Floridians return home to clean up from two hurricanes, with gas and power in short supply

Surrounded by the damage left behind by hurricanes Helene and Milton, people across Florida are facing the daunting task of cleaning up, but many lack the electricity and fuel to do it.

Surrounded by the damage left behind by hurricanes Helene and Milton, people across Florida are facing the daunting task of cleaning up, but many lack the electricity and fuel to do it. Hampered by roads blocked by fallen trees and flooding, fuel suppliers and power companies are working to get the infrastructure of daily life back up and running, and police are aiding recovery efforts by providing escorts to fuel tankers trying to reach those most in need. President Joe Biden made his second trip to the state in two weeks to survey the hurricane damage. Speaking in St. Petersburg on Sunday morning, the president thanked first responders and local officials for their efforts and empathized with Floridians who had lost everything, saying they are “heartbroken and exhausted, and their expenses are piling up.” Here’s the latest on the recovery efforts: • Gas stations still waiting for fuel: Just under 30% of the state’s gas stations have no fuel as of early Sunday, according to the monitoring website GasBuddy.com. In the hard-hit Tampa-St. Petersburg area, more than three quarters of stations, 77%, are out of gas. In the Sarasota area, 62%. Around Ft. Myers and Naples area, it’s 42%, and in the Orlando area, 35%. More than 37.3 million gallons of fuel has been delivered to Florida ports, according to Kevin Guthrie, director of the state’s Division of Emergency Management. “We have right now 25 Florida Highway Patrol escorts to rush in the fuel tankers from the port, and so those are being brought in to fill out the stations,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said. Three public fuel sites in Plant City, Bradenton and St. Petersburg have been opened, where customers can receive 10 gallons of gas each for free. The governor said more will be opened Sunday in Charlotte, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. • Power is gradually being restored: As of early Sunday, a little over 950,000 customers remained out of power across the state according to PowerOutage.us – down from a peak of nearly 3 million. Crews from across the country are working to reconnect homes and businesses to the grid. The power companies estimate most people will have electricity by midweek.