Florida Assesses the Damage in Wake of Hurricane Milton

Floridians begin the painful work of recovery after Hurricane Milton tore through their state less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene.

Transcript

00:00Gerald Gilchrist wades into the flooded street that runs through his battered neighborhood.

00:05The 77-year-old Floridian rode out Hurricane Milton unsure of what would happen to him and his home,

00:11but determined to stick it out.

00:13It was an experience that I only think I got left in my life.

00:18If it was going to go, I was going to go too.

00:21So I was trying to protect it.

00:24But if I had to do it again, I don't think I would.

00:28Matter of fact, during the storm, I thought about that, that I made a bad decision.

00:34Still, this is the worst storm he's seen in 11 years in this state.

00:38And other long-term residents of his hurricane-prone region agree.

00:42At the Atlanta Motor Speedway in neighboring Georgia,

00:45over a dozen Florida families are waiting until it's safe to go home.

00:49In any previous storm, including Helene, just two weeks ago,

00:53Michael Clem wouldn't have considered evacuating, much less fleeing the state.

00:58But this hurricane was unlike anything he'd ever seen.

01:02None of the other storms, I've been there for 36 years in the same area.

01:06Never once have I been scared.

01:08Like, I got to get up and go.

01:10Maybe go to a little bit safer location, higher elevation,

01:13because there were some times I lived on the water.

01:16But for the most part, it was just stay where I'm at, I'm good.

01:20This is the first one in 35 years that I was scared of.

01:23The family's hero relieved their home seemed to have escaped serious damage.

01:27But not everyone is so lucky.

01:29Crystal Coleman's house was one of those destroyed by the many tornadoes the hurricane spawned.

01:34For her, the shock of a loss is coupled with an uncertain future.

01:38I need somewhere to stay at.

01:40I need somewhere to lay my head, me and my daughter.

01:43I need clothing. My clothes are destroyed.

01:46Everything inside of my house is destroyed.

01:48The U.S. government is working on a response.

01:51President Joe Biden even suggested Congress come back from recess to speed up recovery.

01:56But on the ground in Florida, many who made it through the storm are still in survival mode.

02:01Chris Ma, Jon Van Triest, and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.