Floridians continue to battle Hurricane Milton, with over a million people still without power

Florida residents who fled hundreds of miles to escape Hurricane Milton made slow drives home on crowded highways, exhausted from the long drives and the cleanup that awaited them, but also grateful to make it back alive.

“I love my house, but I'm not dying in it,” Fred Neuman said Friday as he walked his dog outside a rest stop on Interstate 75 north of Tampa.

Neuman and his wife live in Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall Wednesday evening as a strong Category 3 hurricane. They followed local evacuation orders ahead of the storm and drove nearly 500 miles to Destin on the Florida Panhandle. Neighbors told the couple the hurricane destroyed their carport and caused other damage, but Neuman shrugged it off and said their insurance should cover it.

About 30 miles north in Zephyrhills, a CBS News team joined the Pasco County Fire Department team as they waded through the water to make sure everyone got out of their homes safely.

“These are all brand new houses. They were all built in the last year and a half to two years, so obviously they're a little higher up for them and they're still good, but… the original houses in this neighborhood are.” “I'm suffering the effects of the three hurricanes” a rescuer told CBS News.

The golf course community faced flooding from Hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, leaving already saturated ground with little room for more water.

Lee and Pamela Essenburm evacuated their home in Palmetto, on the southern end of Tampa Bay, out of fear that Milton would hit as a catastrophic Category 4 or 5 storm.

“I didn’t want to take any chances,” Lee Essenbaum said. “It’s not worth it.”

On Saturday, President Biden approved a disaster declaration for the state of Florida, providing federal funding to affected individuals in the following counties: Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter and Volusia and the Miccosukee -Florida Indian tribe.

Support can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property damage, and other programs to help people and businesses recover in Milton.

Milton killed at least 17 people as it swept through central Florida on Wednesday, flooding barrier islands and tearing off the roof Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium and spawn deadly tornadoes.

Officials say the death toll could have been even worse had the widespread evacuations not occurred.

The still fresh devastation caused by Hurricane Helene just two weeks earlier may have contributed to many people having to flee.

“Helene probably highlighted to us how vulnerable certain areas are to storms, particularly coastal regions,” said Craig Fugate, who served as administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Barack Obama. “When people see firsthand what can happen, especially in neighboring areas, it can lead to behavioral changes during future storms.”

About 1.6 million customers in Florida were without power Saturday morning, according to Find Energy. According to the White House, 50,000 workers, many from across the United States, are working to restore power.

“This is ridiculous. We need power out here. We need help out here,” said Mia Watson, a Palm Beach Gardens resident.

Tornadoes caused unexpected damage

Tony Brazzale, a dive boat captain who has lived at his home in Wellington in southeast Florida for 10 years, wasn't worried about Hurricane Milton. The center of the storm was predicted to make landfall on the opposite side of the peninsula and then cross the state well north of its family.

But on Wednesday afternoon, as the hurricane began to rage across the state, he stood outside his home and watched tornado appeared in the sky. He recorded a video with his cell phone. The pressure eased and his wife said her ears burst. It was time to go inside.

The twister shattered windows in the home, tore off roof shingles, ripped a tree off the ground and left branches and other debris strewn across the yard. Two days later, Brazzale wore safety glasses and used a chainsaw to clean up the damage.

“The hurricane was a non-event for us,” he said. “Without an F-3 tornado, the whole thing would have been a non-event for us.”

It was one of dozens Milton-produced tornadoes That hit South Florida far from where the storm made landfall near Sarasota. One of them killed at least six people at Spanish Lakes Country Club Village near Fort Pierce, about an hour's drive north of Wellington.

Meteorologists believe there may have been at least 38 tornadoes associated with Milton. The National Weather Service is still reviewing preliminary reports, which could take weeks, but issued 126 tornado warnings for the state on the day of the hurricane.

When the review is complete, the storm could enter the top 10 list of all tornadoes caused by a hurricane.

One of these hurricanes narrowly missed Tom Perusi's house, but rocked his boat slightly.

“We went into the bathroom, our concrete bathroom, and stayed there,” he told CBS News. “And when the whole thing shook, everything just shook. And when we came out, I took it seriously. I thought I was ready. I was prepared for anything, not a tornado.”

But Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people not to be careful, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water that could hide dangerous items.

“We are now in a time where there are preventable deaths,” DeSantis said Friday. “You have to make the right decisions and know that there are dangers out there.”

Tom Hanson contributed to this report.