The director of the US Federal Emergency Management Agency, Deanne Criswell, indicated that the impacts of Hurricane Milton could have been much worse, highlighting that Florida avoided the “worst case scenario”.
“What we know for sure is that we avoided the worst-case scenario we were planning for,” Criswell told Kate Bolduan of CNN.
“The fact that they prepared for the worst really ensured that they were able to respond to the impacts that they experienced, and the biggest ones now are the tornadoes that have been reported across the state,” he highlighted.
That doesn’t mean, however, that the state won’t need resources, said Criswell, whose agency has also been involved in restoration after the devastation caused across the southeastern United States just a few weeks ago by Hurricane Helene.
Still, Florida will not need “the level” of resources “that we might need,” Criswell said.
The director noted that she saw a “decrease” in misinformation after Hurricane Milton hit land.
“As we saw from Hurricane Helene, we had great support from governors and members of Congress, local leaders really helping to crack down on this misinformation,” Criswell noted.
“We saw a decrease, although there were still some voices out there trying to spread these lies, which is really unfortunate,” he concluded.
Hurricane Milton leaves deaths and destruction
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm, generating strong winds and rain, as well as flooding and tornadoes.
It weakened to Category 1 as it crossed the state and moved offshore, according to the US National Hurricane Center.
Still, the storm left a trail of destruction, roofing houses, knocking down trees, poles and a crane.
Ten people died after the hurricane hit, according to authorities.
Milton is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, leaving more than 3 million people without power in the state. Wind gusts of 100 mph were recorded near Tampa.
This content was originally published in Florida and avoided a “worst case scenario”, the director of a US federal agency tells CNN on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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