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Although there has been immense loss and suffering after two hurricanes in 13 days, such challenging moments also bring out our humanity and compassion. NBC News’ Lester Holt reports.
IRS vows to race $10B in delayed Covid aid to help hurricane-hit businesses
Small business owners in the Southeast who’ve been waiting for long-delayed pandemic aid are pushing for that money to recover from this fall’s brutal hurricane season. The federal government says more of it is heading their way soon.
Around 400,000 claims worth $10 billion are now being processed for eligible business owners who applied for tax refunds under the Covid-era Employee Retention Credit program, the IRS said Thursday.
The agency didn’t give a concrete timeline or geographic details about the applicants, but it said Thursday that it’s accelerating work on those claims, and it estimated this summer that at least 1.4 million were still in queue.
“Our top priority is to quickly help taxpayers affected by the devastation of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton,” IRS spokesperson Mike Martinez told NBC News. He also highlighted recently announced tax relief for those in affected regions, including filing and payment extensions for individuals and businesses. “We understand the urgent need across the federal government to provide financial assistance to small businesses.”
In Fort Myers, residents prepare to rebuild — again
Fort Myers residents are starting to see the damage Hurricane Milton brought to their community. One woman shares her “heart-wrenching” process of rebuilding again after multiple hurricanes have come through in the recent years.
Hurricane Milton’s downpour around Tampa Bay was a 1-in-1,000-year rain event
Hurricane Milton dumped so much rain over parts of Florida’s Tampa Bay area that it qualified as a 1-in-1,000-year rainfall event.
St. Petersburg had 18.31 inches of rain — or more than 1.5 feet — in the 24-hour period during which the storm made landfall, according to precipitation data from the National Weather Service.
That included a staggering 5.09 inches in one hour, from 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. ET — a level considered to have roughly a 0.1% chance of happening in any given year.
“THIS IS INSANE! St. Petersburg has reported 5.09 inches of rain in ONE HOUR and 9.04 inches in 3 hours,” Matthew Cappucci, an atmospheric scientist and senior meteorologist at MyRadar Weather, posted Wednesday on X. “That’s more rare than a thousand year rain event.”
The Drew family returned to their Punta Gorda home for the first time since the destruction of Hurricane Milton. NBC News’ Dana Griffin talks to the family about the impact of the storm on their home.
Milton battered Florida’s barrier islands
Christal Shola was one of dozens of people in a long stream of cars waiting to re-enter Fort Myers Beach today a few hours after Hurricane Milton slammed into the town.
She intended to retire in the home on Estero Island, a barrier island on Florida’s Gulf Coast, but it was still under construction after Hurricane Ian ravaged it.
Shola returned to find shingles ripped from the roof, but most of the construction supplies stored on the first floor were spared despite some flooding and sand damage.
“It’s heart-wrenching to have to keep going through this,” she said. “We have terrific neighbors, we all help each other, and the fact that we all love it here so much — we just keep doing it.”
Milton is the fifth hurricane to have hit the barrier islands in just two years. Residents say that despite the constant threat, rebuilding is worth it.
1 dead in Polk County traffic accident related to Milton
One person died today in a traffic accident related to Hurricane Milton in Fort Meade, the Polk County Sheriff's Office said.
The death is the 14th related to the storm, according to an NBC News count of confirmed deaths.
Bruce Kinsler, 68, of Bartow, worked for Polk County Roads and Drainage. At about 5:45 a.m., he was working with a four-person "push team" to clear roadways of fallen trees near U.S. Highway 98, the sheriff's office said.
The group was using chainsaws on a downed tree on the highway when a man hit the fallen tree with his pickup truck, pushing it into Kinsler and one of his co-workers.
His truck "continued forward and was propelled into the work crew's parked truck before coming to a stop," the sheriff's office said.
Kinsler was taken to a hospital, where he died from his injuries. The sheriff's office said Kinsler's co-worker "was not as significantly injured" and was released from the hospital after treatment. The driver was also treated at the hospital and was later released.
The driver, who also worked for Polk County Roads and Drainage, was on his way to work at the time of the accident, the sheriff's office said. He said he did not see the work crew or its truck, even though the truck was parked with lights and strobes on.
The investigation continues, said the sheriff's office, which said that the driver "showed no signs of impairment" and that it was very dark and windy.
The road was closed for about four hours.
Federal officials say FEMA can meet the immediate needs of people affected by Hurricanes Milton and Helene. But Biden said the agency will need significantly more money to deal with all the disasters it faces. NBC News’ Gabe Gutierrez reports
First responders rescue more than 500 people at Clearwater apartment complex
First responders from the Clearwater Police Department, the Clearwater Fire & Rescue Department and the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office rescued more than 500 people from a flooded apartment complex in Clearwater today, officials said.
The departments started getting calls overnight from residents trapped by rising water in The Standard, an apartment building on Drew Street. Crews were able to respond this morning after winds from Milton had calmed.
Officials said rescuers arrived to find chest- and neck-deep water in some areas and vehicles submerged in others.
Because some residents were trapped in their homes, the rescue agencies went door to door to ensure no one else was stuck. No major injuries were reported.
Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown detailed the storm surge and wind damage that hit the area after Hurricane Milton. Brown said volunteers are giving out water to residents after a pipe burst and officials are doing all they can to restore power.