Tampa, Florida, resident Dr. Kevin Olsen joins ‘Varney & Co.’ for details on the widespread damage Hurricane Milton has caused in his community.
Hurricane Milton left more than three million Florida residents without power as it tore through the state Wednesday night, and officials urged patience as crews worked around the clock to keep the lights on.
Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, was one of the hardest hit areas. The head of local power company Tampa Electric (TECO) explained during a press conference Thursday afternoon that nearly 600,000 of TECO’s 850,000 customers are without power, and he outlined the challenges workers face in restoring it.
People walk through water as streets are flooded in the Southeast Seminole Heights section of Tampa due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024 in Florida. Hurricane Milton devastated coast to coast across the US state of Florida, (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
The President of TECO, Archie Collins, said that as far as he knows, this is the biggest outage the company has ever had.
Milton was expected to cause damage, and Collins said TECO was prepared early. He said that 6,000 workers have been mobilized to help restore services, noting that the most he has seen involved in the past storms in the seven years he has been working for this company is 3,500.
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However, their work is important to them.
Much of Thursday was spent assessing the extent of the damage. Helicopters were sent to fly up and down the transmission grid to find the sources of the outage. The area experienced flooding from heavy rains, combined with strong winds, which caused the infrastructure to move, Collins said.
Trees fall on Hurricane Milton near Hillsborough Ave and Dale Mabry in Tampa, Florida, United States on October 10, 2024. (Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images / Getty Images)
Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Deputy Colonel Anthony Collins said first responders, including police and firefighters, were working as hard as they could, and reported several downed trees, which delayed some rescue efforts.
“We can’t get to them quickly because…a lot of those trees come with power lines,” said Collins. “We don’t know if those cables are alive or not, please bear with us.” He added that many traffic control machines are not working, either.
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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said that due to the “massive” outage, 65% of the traffic lights in the city of Tampa are out, and she can only imagine how much power is out across the country.
A drone photo shows people walking through flooded streets in Tampa due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024 in Florida. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
“We have a lot of work to do, but we need you to do your part,” said Castor. He joked that everyone behind him at the press conference might think he smells like a “burner” because he just took a breath and turned on the generator for his other sister.
“We will restore electricity, but you also have to watch out for those downed lines and make sure you help take care of your neighbors,” he added.
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Andy Ross, the mayor of Temple Terrace, used his time at a press conference to urge residents to “stay the course,” stressing that officials recognize the disruption of the power outage and are doing everything they can to restore it – but it’s possible. take time. He warned the residents, “This will not happen on Saturday.”
An aerial view shows a Sheriff’s Department vehicle driving through flooded streets in Tampa, Florida, as a result of Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images/Getty Images)
TECO’s Collins said he expects “lucky” customers to see power starting Thursday with crews working to restore individual circuits. But the restoration is being done in stages, first going to places like hospitals and nursing homes, then important infrastructure like the airport, and then, finally, the residential community.
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“We fully understand that continued electricity supply is fundamental to a functioning society and a growing economy, and we are determined. We have the resources,” Collins said. “We will need a little patience from our customers and community partners, but we will restore the system very soon. That’s all – we need a little time today to prepare the work for the balance.”
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