Battered Florida begins long road to recovery after major hurricanes

Many still without power, water and sewage services; clearing of debris may take months

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FORT PIERCE, Florida - Millions of Floridians began a long and difficult recovery on Oct 11 after the state's second major hurricane in two weeks, restoring power, shovelling mud from flooded homes and clearing mountains of debris left by Milton and Helene.

While some coastal cities such as Tampa were spared the catastrophic surge of seawater that many forecasters had feared, Milton brought widespread flooding and touched off a spate of deadly tornadoes on Florida's east coast, killing at least 16 people and leaving millions without power.

Many areas had still been clearing debris and repairing damage from Hurricane Helene, which slammed into the Gulf Coast late in September before battering much of the south-eastern US.

During a 72-hour period this week, the Florida Department of Transportation removed 2,200 truckloads of debris - more than 30,000 cubic m - from Pinellas County barrier islands near the mouth of Tampa Bay, Governor Ron DeSantis told a briefing.

Utility workers repaired downed power lines and damaged cell-phone towers, while crews from government agencies and residents armed with chainsaws cleared downed trees and mopped up flooded neighbourhoods in cities and towns swamped by heavy rain.