Florida businesses fear Hurricane Milton will worsen Helene 'devastation': 'Looks like a third-world country'
Hubbard’s Marina, a popular fishing and recreational outlet for boaters in John’s Pass, Florida, sits in the center of Hurricane Milton’s quickly-approaching path.
Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene "destroyed" the marina’s dock; the business owner now fears Milton’s Category 4 forces will exacerbate the damage and loss while being met with little help from insurance or FEMA.
"Insurance isn't going to do much, unfortunately. And we've had devastation throughout our region. This area's definitely just been creamed by Hurricane Helene. There's so much damage, there's so much disaster, and a lot of people have lost everything already. And there's so much debris along our roadways," Dylan Hubbard said on "Varney & Co." Tuesday morning.
"It looks like a third-world country down here."
HURRICANE MILTON HAS FLORIDA HOMEOWNERS AND THE INSURANCE MARKET BRACING FOR IMPACT
Forecasters say Hurricane Milton has the potential to become one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida, which includes the Tampa area, as millions of residents continue to prepare for life-threatening impacts and evacuate the coast and other low-lying areas ahead of the monster storm’s arrival on Wednesday night as hurricane and storm surge warnings expand to the state's east coast.
Images and video footage from Hubbard show how Helene, which made landfall on Sept. 26, tore up wood paneling and floor boards. Other businesses and homeowners used the last week to remove damaged furniture and debris, a lot of which still sits idle on local streets.
"The good news is the governor has done a great job in the last 24 to 48 hours, really ramping up state law enforcement and state resources to help clear the debris. Just two days ago, Gulf Boulevard was nearly impassable with debris everywhere scattered along the roadways," the marina owner described.
"We've seen multiple state agencies out here, there are police escorting fleets of dump trucks throughout our city to get out here on the beaches and try to scramble to get this debris out," Hubbard continued. "We actually had our dock completely destroyed. It took us five days and a great team and community coming together. We rebuilt our dock. It looks great. We started to run trips Saturday and Sunday just to go ahead and shut down again."
Over the weekend, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis declared states of emergency in 51 out of 67 counties, and President Biden approved the state’s pre-landfall emergency declaration request, which now authorizes the Department of Homeland Security and FEMA to coordinate all disaster relief efforts and to provide appropriate assistance for required emergency measures.
Local officials in Hillsborough County and Pinellas County began issuing voluntary and some mandatory evacuation orders throughout Monday, which Hubbard said "is very unique; you don't see that often."
Hubbard also claimed he has seen National Guard troops on the ground, but not FEMA, who has come under recent scrutiny for alleged allocation of disaster resources.
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"Our state governor came down here, they brought truckloads full of equipment and gear. The state has been super helpful. Our local city has been doing the best they can. But as far as federal government assistance, FEMA, I haven't seen anything personally," Hubbard said.
"There have been rumors of them trying to assist local residents. But everybody I've talked to has just been telling me they either get nothing, completely denied or very small claims."
FOX Weather’s Steven Yablonski contributed to this report.