Determination to rebuild follows Florida's hurricanes with acceptance that storms will come again

VENICE, Fla. (AP) — No sooner had residents of the Bahia Vista Gulf condominium complex dug out and from Hurricane Helene than they were faced with the same daunting cleanup from new damage inflicted by Hurricane Milton.

The beachfront units had been gutted, treated and dried out after Hurricane Helene and mounds of sand that had blown in from the beach had been removed. Then, less than two weeks later, Hurricane Milton barreled in and undid all the progress.

“They’ve got to start the whole process over, cleaning, sanitizing, bringing in drying equipment, getting them all dried and prepped for renovations,” lamented Bill O’Connell, a board member at the complex in Venice, about an hour's drive south of Tampa. The second hurricane “brought all the sand back on our property.”

Some longtime Floridians have grown accustomed to the annual cycle of storms that can shatter and upend lives in a state known mostly for its balmy weather, sunshine and beaches.

“It’s the price you pay to live in paradise,” O’Connell said. “If you want to live here with this view, beautiful sunsets, be able to go out on your boat, enjoy what Florida has to offer, you have to be willing to accept that these storms are going to come."

The devastation of the back-to-back storms is still being tallied as a swath of the state comes to terms with damage from the unusual dual strike of storms in such close proximity. Many residents, some returning home after evacuating, spent much of Saturday searching for gas as a fuel shortage gripped the state.

President Joe Biden planned to visit the Gulf Coast on Sunday.

Hurricane Milton killed at least 10 people after it made landfall as a Category 3 storm, tearing across central Florida, flooding barrier islands and spawning deadly tornadoes. Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for the widespread evacuations. Overall, more than a thousand people were rescued in the wake of the storm.

In the fishing village of Cortez, a community of 4,100 southwest of Tampa, Catherine Praught said she and her husband, Mark, felt “pure panic” when Hurricane Milton menaced Cortez so soon after Helene, forcing them to pause their cleanup and evacuate. Fortunately, their home wasn’t damaged by the second storm.

“This is where we live,” Catherine Praught said of their low-lying home of 36 years that had to be emptied, gutted and scrubbed after Helene. “We’re just hopeful we get the insurance company to help us.”

Residents of the community's modest, single-story wood and stucco-fronted cottages were working Saturday to remove broken furniture and tree limbs, stacking the debris in the street much like they did after Hurricane Helene.

A similar scene could be found in Steinhatchee, west of Gainsville, where enormous piles of debris lined the streets.

Melissa Harden lives less than a block from a restaurant and neighborhood bar that were reduced to rubble. Her house is on 16-foot (4.9-meter) pilings, but 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water still flooded in. When Milton was forecast, she feared Steinhatachee would be hit by the third hurricane in 14 months.

“Personally, I thought, if it comes, we’re already evacuated and our home is pretty messed up,” she said as friends and relatives helped with the cleanup, removing bathroom fixtures and pulling out damaged boards. “Of course we didn’t want it! No more storms!”

Moody’s Analytics on Saturday estimated economic costs from the storm will range from $50 billion to $85 billion, including upwards of $70 billion in property damage and an economic output loss of up to $15 billion.

In St. Petersburg, scores of people lined up at a station that had no gas Saturday, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them was Daniel Thornton and his 9-year-old daughter Magnolia, who arrived at 7 a.m. and were still waiting four hours later.

“They told me they have gas coming but they don’t know when it’s going to be here,” he said. “I have no choice. I have to sit here all day with her until I get gas.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday morning that the state opened three fuel distribution sites and planned to open several more. Residents can get 10 gallons (37.8 liters) each, free of charge, he said.

“Obviously as power gets restored ... and the Port of Tampa is open, you’re going to see the fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,” DeSantis said.

Officials were replenishing area gas stations with the state’s fuel stockpiles and provided generators to stations that remained without power.

As the recovery continues, DeSantis has warned people to be cautious, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water. Some 1.1 million Floridians were still without power Saturday night, according to Poweroutage.us.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Paul Close said rivers will “keep rising" for the next several days and result in flooding, mostly around Tampa Bay and northward. Those areas were hit by the most rain, which comes on top of a wet summer that included several earlier hurricanes.

“You can't do much but wait,” Close said of the rivers cresting. “At least there is no rain in the forecast, no substantial rain. So we have a break here from all our wet weather.”

Farrington reported from St. Petersburg, Florida. Associated Press journalists contributing from Florida included Chris O'Meara in Lithia, Curt Anderson in Tampa, Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Terry Spencer outside of Fort Lauderdale and Stephany Matat in Fort Pierce. Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., contributed.

Florida National Guardsmen control access to a heavily damaged area of Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A woman, right, walks past a home that was swept partially into the road during the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A child's swing still hangs on a tree, surrounded by debris from homes destroyed by Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

People survey damage to beachfront homes, many of which had their ground floor level washed out, following Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Damaged homes are seen on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A boat is seen through a broken wall on the ground floor of a stilted home on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A county vehicle drives past damaged homes on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A seahorse statue lies embedded in feet of sand covering a road on Manasota Key, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A section of the island's main road not yet reached by county work crews remains covered in feet of sand following the passage of Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Scott Bennett, a contractor who specializes in storm recovery, uses a skid steer to remove sand around 5 feet deep from the patio of a beachfront condominium in Venice, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Ron and Jean Dyer, high school sweethearts who have been married for 60 years, joke together as they talk in the living room of their second-floor beachfront condominium, which lost its roof and a section of wall during Hurricane Milton, in Venice, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Catherine Praught stands inside her damaged home from Hurricane Milton in Cortez, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Mark Praught stands inside his storm-damaged home from Hurricane Milton in Cortez, Fla., on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Jen Hilliard shovels sandy muck into a wheelbarrow outside a friend’s house after Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Bradenton Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Jen Hilliard dumps sandy muck from a wheelbarrow in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton on Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, outside a friend’s house in Bradenton Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Don Glass stands his at his home, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Bradenton Beach, Fla., which saw flooding from Hurricane Helene and wind damage from Hurricane Milton two weeks later. (AP Photo/Russ Bynum)

Scott Bennett, a contractor who specializes in storm recovery, drives a skid steer, bottom, as he removes sand around 5 feet deep from the patio of a beachfront condominium in Venice, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. Bennett said he had just finished digging out the same condominium complex after Hurricane Helene, when Milton buried it in an even deeper layer of sand. Before Helene hit, the Venice native said, he'd "never seen sand like this. Wind rain, water, but never sand." (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A condominium owner who says her unit, at the back of the property, was luckily undamaged, walks beside an almost-buried fence as she surveys the beginning of work to remove feet worth of extra sand from the beach and beachfront properties, in Venice, Fla.,following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Scott Bennett, a contractor who specializes in storm recovery, drives a skid steer as he removes sand around 5 feet deep from the patio of a beachfront condominium in Venice, Fla., following the passage of Hurricane Milton, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, second from right, gestures as he holds a news conference after Hurricane Milton at a fuel depot Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Kevin Guthrie, Florida Division of Emergency Management, speaks during a news conference at a newly opened fuel depot Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant, Fla. Looking on are Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, left, and Gov. Ron DeSantis, right. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis holds a news conference at a fuel depot in Plant City, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, accompanied by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody, right. Gas station are slow to open after the effects of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A Florida Highway Patrol officer watches as fuel depot workers distribute gas to residents Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. Gas stations are slow to reopen after the effects of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Fuel distribution workers fill cars at a depot, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. Gas stations are slow to reopen after the effects of Hurricane Milton. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

Motorists wait in long lines for fuel at a newly opened depot after Hurricane Milton Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Plant City, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

A child's swing still hangs on a tree, surrounded by debris from homes destroyed by Hurricane Milton, on Manasota Key, Fla., Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Dylan Sampson scored his third touchdown of the game on a 1-yard run in overtime to give No. 8 Tennessee a 23-17 victory over Florida on Saturday night.

The Volunteers (5-1, 2-1 Southeastern Conference) went to overtime for only the second time. The first was in 1998 when they won the national title.

Trey Smack missed a 47-yard field goal try for Florida (3-3, 1-2) on the first overtime possession.

“Once (Florida) missed the field goal, I knew we would win,” Sampson said.

“(After the miss), we were going to run the football and be sound in doing it,” said Tennessee coach Josh Heupel. “(Sampson) always has great vision, great pace. He's always been good running between the tackles.”

The Gators tied it with 29 seconds left on DJ Lagway's 27-yard touchdown pass to Chimere Dike. After lining up for a 2-point conversion, Tennessee called a timeout and Florida kicked the extra point.

Sampson, who rushed for 112 yards, ran 23 yards for a go-ahead, fourth-quarter touchdown. The touchdown was set up by a defensive stand that forced the Gators to punt from their end zone.

“(The defense) is confident,” Heupel said. “They don't just think (something good) is going to happen. They have to make it happen.”

Florida jumped out to a 10-0 lead, with Graham Mertz hitting Arlis Boardingham with a 13-yard scoring pass midway through the third quarter. On the play, Mertz's foot caught in the turf and he sustained a left leg injury.

“The tale of the tape is our missed opportunities in the first half,” Florida coach Billy Napier said.

The Gators led 3-0 at the half, but fumbled on the Tennessee 1 and had an illegal substitution penalty on a field goal attempt at the end of the second quarter that had a 10-second run-off negate the points.

“We had many opportunities to score points,” Napier said.

Sampson then had a 6-yard scoring, and Lagway, who took over for Mertz, threw an interception that set up Max Gilbert's tying, 35-yard field goal.

THE TAKEAWAY

Florida: With Georgia, Texas, LSU and Ole Miss still on the schedule, the Gators will have to get things in order in a hurry. Bright glimmers from wins over Mississippi State and UCF were parlayed into a gritty performance against the Vols.

Tennessee: A lot of the problems that cropped up in the loss to Arkansas were evident again. With Alabama visiting next week, the Vols have a long way to go to make things right. If Tennessee is going to be a playoff contender the rest of the season, it needs to show consistency in its performance.

UP NEXT

Florida: Hosts Kentucky on Saturday.

Tennessee: Hosts Alabama on Saturday.

Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here. AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

Tennessee running back Dylan Sampson (6) is tackled by Florida linebacker Grayson Howard (10) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava (8) tries to escape the grasp of Florida edge Kamran James (24) during the first half of an NCAA college football game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)