Hurricane Milton leaves path of destruction across Florida, at least 16 dead

What to know about Hurricane Milton

• Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm.
• At least 16 people died from the storm, officials confirmed to CBS News.
  
• Milton moved across the Florida peninsula Thursday and over the Atlantic Ocean.
• More than 2 million customers were without power in Florida on Friday, according to utility tracker Find Energy .

• Follow updates below.

White House says federal personnel remain on the ground

One thousand federal personnel remain on the ground after Hurricane Milton, the White House said on Friday afternoon , and search and rescue teams have conducted over 4,200 rescues and assists.

Another 50,000 workers are restoring power. Over 2 million Florida residents are still in the dark.

Meal deliveries are also underway. Workers have already delivered 1.2 million meals, with another 1.6 million set to be delivered Friday.

"We will be with the people of Florida for as long as it takes," the White House said.

Hurricane Milton power outages map

This map shows what parts of Florida are experiencing power outages in the wake of Hurricane Milton , according to Find Energy .

Harris addresses hurricane relief efforts in Las Vegas town hall

At a Univision town hall Thursday night in Las Vegas, Vice President Kamala Harris fielded questions about federal hurricane relief efforts.

Ramiro Gonzalez, a voter from Tampa, Florida, noted that more than one hurricane had struck his home.

"Rumors are that your administration didn't do enough to respond to the last hurricane . What would you specifically do, or your administration do, to help us in the Tampa Bay area or the Central Florida area with this hurricane?" he asked Harris.

Harris responded by decrying disinformation spread about the federal response to recent hurricanes.

"I have to stress that this is not a time for people to play politics," she said.

She then listed her continual briefings and contact with state and local officials on the ground, and warned against companies that are raising prices in impacted areas.

Read more here .

Biden again rebukes Trump for misinformation on hurricane response: "Get a life, man"

President Biden on Thursday was again critical of former President Donald Trump for spreading false information about relief efforts for hurricanes Helene and Milton.

"Former President Trump, get a life, man, help these people," Mr. Biden said when asked about it in a briefing.

It comes after Mr. Biden on Wednesday accused Trump of leading "the onslaught of lies" around federal aid efforts.

Speaking in Detroit on Thursday, Trump falsely claimed, yet again, that FEMA had turned its back on victims of Hurricane Helene.

"With respect to North Carolina," Trump said. "They've let those people suffer unjustly." Trump has made such claims at least 19 times since Sept. 30.

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also said Thursday that some victims have heard false rumors that FEMA will seize their land.

"What we have seen is people reticent, reluctant to access the relief to which they are entitled," Mayorkas said.

FEMA says it has already distributed $344 million worth of assistance to victims of Helene in six states.

Coast Guard rescues man clinging to cooler 30 miles offshore

The U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man about 30 miles off Florida's Gulf Coast on Thursday afternoon after he survived hurricane-force winds and heavy seas overnight.

The man, a fishing boat captain, became stranded Wednesday while attempting to make repairs on the vessel after it broke down earlier in the week, according to the Coast Guard.

"This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner," said Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, Sector St. Petersburg's command center chief.

Watch video of the rescue here .

St. Petersburg reports over 100 traffic lights down, 30 water line breaks

St. Petersburg reported Thursday night that more than 100 traffic lights were down across the city and 30 water lines were broken, mainly because of fallen trees, as a result of Hurricane Milton.

In a recovery update, city officials said crews were still assessing the storm's damage and working to clear debris from the streets, including hundreds of fallen trees.

Officials also said crews were working around the clock to repair the water lines.

"Drinking water has been restored but the city remains under a boil water notice until Monday, Oct. 14," the recovery update said .

The city also reminded residents to treat downed traffic signals as four-way stops for safety.

Dozens of rescues conducted across Tampa for those stranded by Milton floodwaters

Rescues were conducted across the Tampa area Thursday for those who chose not to evacuate before Hurricane Milton arrived.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office conducted dozens of rescues in the Tampa area after Milton made landfall, including rescuing more than 135 residents of an assisted living facility. Elderly evacuees were given food, water and blankets.

CBS News rode with a sheriff's rescue team when they rescued an 80-year-old woman from her home.

"This is a bad dream, a very bad dream," the woman said.

In one Tampa neighborhood, entire homes were nearly submerged underwater.

In Clearwater, Florida, west of Tampa, hundreds of first responders were using high-water vehicles and boats to rescue families trapped in an apartment complex.

"We lost everything, I lost everything, there was about 10 feet of water in my apartment right, because I tried to go back in and grab some stuff, and it rising, rising, it was up to my chest," one man who lives in the complex told CBS News.

By Vladimir Duthiers and Jonathan Vigliotti

Boca Grande's barrier island community still cut off after Milton

The barrier island community of Boca Grande on Florida's west coast remained cut off Thursday evening after being hard-hit by Hurricane Milton.

The only bridge to Boca Grande, located just west of Fort Myers, was closed after the island was hit with a 5-foot storm surge. CBS News got access to the island Thursday in a helicopter with Lee County Sheriff Carmine Marceno.

Homes were surrounded by brown water, cars were swept away and businesses were caked in sand. Nearly everyone on the island evacuated, and Marceno thinks that saved their lives.

"I would never would imagine it would look like this. Businesses closed, water is busted through the windows, trash and debris, boats, furniture. It just shows you its true devastation. If you took a picture, they say a picture is worth a thousand words, this leaves me at a loss for words," the sheriff said.

Milton death toll rises to at least 16 people, officials say

At least 16 people have been killed by Hurricane Milton, Florida officials confirmed to CBS News.

The Florida Department of Law Enforcement said eight counties have reported 16 storm-related deaths to their agency.

Six people died in St. Lucie County, three people died in Volusia County, one in Citrus County, one in Polk County, two in Pinellas County, one in Hillsborough County, one in Sarasota County and one person in Orange County, according to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.

Authorities said it is up to each individual local agency to determine whether a death is storm-related. They also warned that there could be discrepancies in the numbers as officials continue to assess the storm's impact on communities.

Manatee County has been in "recovery mode, response mode" for over a month, official says

Some communities in Florida's Manatee County were still recovering from recent hurricanes when Milton made landfall just to its south.

"We have a lot of communities that were still deep into recovery from Hurricane Helene that passed and even some from Hurricane Debby ," Jodie Fiske, the public safety director for Manatee County, said on "CBS Mornings." "So our community has been in recovery mode, response mode, recovery mode, response mode for just a little over a month now, so we're just still pushing through."

While Fiske said Milton didn't bring the high levels of storm surge to the county that were feared, it wasn't left unspared.

"We are getting a lot of reports of a significant number of trees down, power lines down," she said. "A lot of our mobile homes took a pretty big hit."

Florida west coast evacuees head home

Residents who fled Florida's west coast ahead of Hurricane Milton began their journey home on Thursday. Evacuees faced heavy traffic and uncertainty about the condition in which they would find their homes as they inched along Florida's highways.

Backups on I-75 westbound stretched for miles, and Amanda Cielenski and her four daughters from Punta Gorda were anxious to get home.

"It's nerve-racking," Cielenski told CBS News Miami. "We don't know what the roads will look like, or what condition our home will be in. It took us about six hours to get here, and it's going to be tricky getting back."

Read more here.

By Marybel Rodriguez, Mauricio Maldonado

American Red Cross: "This is going to be hard for many, many families"

There are more than 1,000 American Red Cross workers on the ground in Florida responding to the aftermaths of hurricanes Milton and Helene, the organization said Thursday.

"This is going to be hard for many, many families in Florida," national spokesperson Nicole Maul said on "CBS Mornings."

She said the Red Cross was going to be in the state for months following the devastating back-to-back storms.

"We're not going to let these folks walk this recovery path alone," Maul said.

CBS is working with the American Red Cross to support relief efforts for people affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene. Donate at redcross.org/cbs or call 1-800-RED CROSS, or text HURRICANES to 90999 to donate. Full terms at redcross.org/m .

Read more on how to help hurricane survivors here .

Milton storm surge peaked at 5-10 feet, preliminary analysis finds

The storm surge from Hurricane Milton peaked at 5-10 feet above ground level from Siesta Key to Fort Myers Beach, Florida, according to a preliminary analysis from the National Hurricane Center.

While the center noted a more detailed analysis would follow, earlier predictions had warned the surge could rise as high as 15 feet in the Tampa Bay area.

Biden calls on Congress to "move as rapidly" as it can on hurricane emergency funding

President Biden called on lawmakers Thursday to "move as rapidly as they can" on emergency funding for hurricanes in the wake of Milton and Helene. He singled out assistance for small businesses in particular because he said the disaster relief fund for loans for these businesses is running precariously low.

The president said he hasn't spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson or asked him to bring Congress back before Election Day. Johnson said Wednesday in North Carolina — a state badly hit by Hurricane Helene — that FEMA and the administration "have the resources necessary right now to address the immediate needs."

Read more here .

At least 340 rescued after Hurricane Milton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave an update on Hurricane Milton rescue and recovery efforts Thursday afternoon and said so far, 340 people and 49 pets have been rescued since the storm's landfall Wednesday night.

He also said inland flooding caused by the storm has blocked key roadways in central and northern parts of the state, and energy companies are working to restore power to the estimated 3 million residents in the dark.

Watch his news conference in the video below: