President Joe Biden said Hurricane Milton damage cost Florida a whopping $50billion.
‘Experts estimate… that it caused damages of around $50billion,’ Biden told reporters at the White House on Friday afternoon.
He said his administration is ‘providing all the resources needed’ to local and state officials they have been in constant contact with.
Biden also thanked first responders, volunteers and workers making an effort to restore power in the affected regions.
Milton made landfall in the Tampa Bay Area on Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm.
Biden previously promised that the federal government would financially support Florida in the rebuilding.
The actual damage has turned out to far surpass his earlier estimate.
‘It’s going to take several billion dollars,’ the president had said on Thursday.
‘It’s not going to be a matter of just a little bit. But we’re providing now to make sure people have the emergency relief they need.’
By Thursday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency had used almost half of its $20billion disaster budget.
Biden immediately urged Congress to return to Washington, DC, and approve more funding for FEMA.
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