Hurricane Milton live: Florida hits as police chief warns: 'We will find bodies'

“Stagnant rainwater can also carry bacteria that can lead to deadly infections,” said Ron DeSantis.

“This type of infection was responsible for one death following Hurricane Helene, so please avoid wading through standing water.”

The governor's warning comes after the Florida Department of Health previously warned residents to avoid heavily flooded areas due to the risk of Vibrio infections.

Contact with the bacteria living in coastal waters (often through open wounds or ingestion) can cause the disease vibriosis. Vibrio infection can cause watery diarrhea, vomiting, blistering skin lesions, and discharge – if the sores become infected.

“The Florida Department of Health (Department) urges residents and visitors to avoid flooding and prevent exposure to Vibrio in anticipation of flooding and heavy rain from Hurricane Milton,” the Florida Department of Health said in a statement Tuesday.

About one in five people with this infection dies, sometimes within a day or two of becoming ill, the Center for Disease and Control Prevention says on its website.

“As you survey and clean up damage now, please be aware of hazards,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference Thursday morning.

“Almost every storm has post-storm deaths, and many of these deaths are preventable. Therefore, please be careful with downed power lines.”

He continued, “Don’t touch her. Do not remove tree debris that may be caught in downed power lines. Standing water can hide power lines and other hazards. So please be careful and never walk through stormy waters.”

Providing relief agencies like mine with critical funding could mean the difference between life and death for millions of Americans, writes FEMA official Nathalie Beasnael — but Republican paranoia is getting in the way.

Read Nathalie's full article for The Independent below.

DeSantis announced that dozens of search and rescue missions have been completed and more than 48 residents have been rescued across Florida.

“State search and rescue teams report that at least 48 people have been rescued as of 6:30 a.m. National Guard search and rescue teams worked overnight and successfully rescued families and pets on the West Coast and from the destruction caused by the tornadoes in east, central and eastern Florida.”

“The (Florida National Guard) is working into the morning and has 31 rescue aircraft deployed, and hundreds of rescuers are involved in over 125 active missions in 26 different counties,” DeSantis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed relief that “this is not the worst-case scenario” for Florida after Hurricane Milton hit the state's west coast Wednesday evening.

“Fortunately, this was not the worst-case scenario,” the governor said at a news conference Thursday morning.

“The storm weakened before making landfall and, as originally reported, the overall storm surge was not as significant as that observed with Hurricane Helene.”

Four people in St. Lucie County were killed by tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton just before landfall, officials said.

County Sheriff Keith Pearson previously confirmed there were “multiple deaths” afterward a dozen tornadoes formed in St. Lucie County in just 20 minutes.

One hit the Spanish Lakes Country Club retirement village in Fort Pierce, causing several deaths, Pearson said.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor expressed relief that less storm surge was recorded than expected, but issued an urgent warning to Hillsborough County residents.

The city, located on Florida's west coast, suffered severe damage as Hurricane Milton passed through the state, Castor said in a news conference early Thursday.

Much of the panic subsided as storm surge levels in the city were below the expected 15 feet, which “provided a lot of savings, which is what we were really worried about,” the mayor added.

Castor warned that the fight against Milton was not quite over yet. Especially for the wider circle.

“At 7 a.m. ET, when the tide comes in, rivers will be flooding throughout Hillsborough County, not just the city of Tampa,” she said.

Fires broke out due to downed power lines after Hurricane Milton hit the state with its hurricane-force winds.

The Matlacha and Pine Island Fire Protection District responded to multiple calls regarding structure fires that had occurred on the Gulf Coast island in Lee County.

Photos posted on his Facebook account show the building in flames and then the smoldering ruins after it was extinguished.

“The emergency services gained access to the island a few hours ago and are responding to several emergency calls, including building fires. Please stay off the road. “We have several lines and masts broken!” wrote the fire department on Thursday morning.