400,000 Tampa Bay residents without power 5 days after Hurricane Milton

Tampa, FL – On Wednesday, October 9, Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, Florida as a Category 3 hurricane that devastated the state. Five days later, Tampa Bay residents are still experiencing power outages, gas shortages and widespread damage to their homes.

According to PowerOutage.us, 400,000 customers in Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties still do not have power. The largest number of outages are in Hillsborough County, where over 150,000 Tampa Electric (TECO) customers remain without power. The CEO of TECO promised the county that 100% of customers will have their power restored by Thursday, October 17.

In the past year, TECO has been under fire, with customers protesting their unprecedented rate hikes. With residents already struggling to pay rent and get food on the table, TECO promised that the rate hikes would mean shorter power outages for customers. By Thursday it will be over a week since the devastation of Milton caused millions to lose power.

Most of those living in the Tampa Bay region without power are those who live in working class and largely immigrant communities. These communities have been forced to go back to work despite the loss of power to their homes. While residents are left in the dark, the city quickly restored power to Central Command’s MacDill Airforce Base and tourist attractions like Busch Gardens.

The shortage of gasoline remains an issue felt by all those living in Tampa. Even before Milton hit, the demand for gas had emptied gas stations across Tampa Bay. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis did not step in to provide gas for Florida residents until the Saturday after the hurricane. Even then, the state only provided three distribution sites – Plant City, Saint Petersburg and Bradenton – leaving many still without the means to get fuel.

Had the governor taken precautions before the hurricane hit the state, Tampa residents would not have gone to lengths to hoard gas or had to wait in hours-long lines just to fill up their cars. As of Monday afternoon, 50.4% of Tampa and Sarasota area gas stations are without fuel.

Throughout the region, large trees and downed power lines still block off many streets. On Sunday, Governor DeSantis announced that he would be using the Florida Department of Transportation, the Florida State Guard, the National Guard, and the Florida Highway Patrol to help with city and county debris removal. Of the at least 23 people who died from the hurricane, one woman in Tampa, one man in Orlando, and one man in Polk County died while clearing the debris in their yards post-Milton.

Residents impacted by Milton can now apply for assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Last month, all 11 Florida Republicans in Congress voted down a resolution that would have provided billions in additional disaster relief funding.

Donald Trump and Republicans across the country have been spreading misinformation that FEMA is refusing to help people in Republican areas and is instead using funds to house immigrants. This propaganda has led to individuals threatening FEMA personnel in North Carolina who were providing aid after Hurricane Helene. As a result, these emergency personnel were forced to evacuate and pause their relief efforts in the area.

The state of Florida and Governor DeSantis had time to prepare for the devastation that Milton was projected to bring. Instead, Florida residents were left to fend for themselves in the midst of destruction, flooding, power outages and gas shortages.

#TampaFL #FL #PeoplesStruggles #NaturalDisasters #Environment #ClimateChange #FEMA #Featured