WASHINGTON — White House officials say federal personnel are on the ground in Florida, helping state and local governments respond to the aftermath of Hurricane Milton. 


What You Need To Know

  • Ahead of Milton's landfall FEMA had more than 1,000 federal responders in place in Florida

  • Caitlin Durkovich, the White House Senior Director for Resilience and Recovery, said the Biden Administration is working with the state to do damage assessments

  • President Joe Biden says FEMA will be opening disaster recovery centers in impacted communities

“We have had over 1,000 personnel in the state of Florida pre-landfall, and that is in addition to another roughly 1,200 search-and-rescue personnel that we made available should they be needed,” said White House Senior Director for Resilience and Recovery Caitlin Durkovich.

Durkovich said Milton’s rapid intensification, along with tornadoes that accompanied the storm, presented unique challenges.

The full extent of the damage is still unknown.

“In terms of really understanding the impact, it is still early, and we are working very closely with the state to do those damage assessments,” Durkovich said. 

President Joe Biden said FEMA will be opening disaster recovery centers. Clearing debris and restoring power and water systems are also top priorities. 

“We know that in St. Petersburg there was a water-line break, which forced the city to shut the water system down," Durkovich said. "And, that has cascading impacts into hospitals and other things. And, so the Army Corps and the EPA work very closely with partners at the state and local level to troubleshoot what the challenge is and to get that water main repaired so we can get the water system back and operational."

Biden spoke with Gov. Ron DeSantis and members of the Florida Congressional Delegation Thursday and urged them to call if they have any needs. Biden also called on Congress to return to Washington as soon as possible to pass a hurricane relief package.