Braxton Taylor
Military bases in Florida were still assessing damage from Hurricane Milton Thursday, but it initially appeared they had avoided the wide-scale destruction feared as the storm approached this week.
A recovery team was sent to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa — home to U.S. Central Command — to survey any damage and begin recovery efforts after the Sunshine State was hit with less-than-anticipated storm surge and flooding compared to Hurricane Helene, which tore through the state and devastated parts of the Southeast last month.
Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, the Pentagon’s top spokesperson, told reporters Thursday that “it wasn’t the worst-case scenario” but added that the teams were just starting to analyze the extent of Hurricane Milton’s Category 3 destruction after the storm made landfall south of Tampa Wednesday evening.
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“In other words, there’s some damage, but not extensive damage,” Ryder said. “But again, we need the time to be able to go in, have the teams make those assessments and come back with more detailed information.”
Flooding was far more significant in the state late last month, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a briefing Thursday morning. He said surges were as high as 10 feet during Milton and as high as 20 feet during Helene.
Many bases within Milton’s path were returning from evacuation orders and scouting for damage as of Thursday afternoon. MacDill — also home to U.S. Special Operations Command and the Air Force’s 6th Air Refueling Wing — was in the hurricane’s path and had ordered widespread evacuations ahead of its landfall.
As of Thursday afternoon, the base’s hurricane recovery team was tasked with initial recovery.
“A Hurricane Recovery Team [HRT] is en route to MacDill AFB to begin assessing, identifying and neutralizing hazards,” Rose Riley, a Department of the Air Force spokesperson, told Military.com. “MacDill AFB remains closed at this time, and personnel who are not assigned to the HRT should not attempt to access the installation until further notice. Safety of personnel is the No. 1 priority as damage assessments begin.”
Col. Ed Szczepanik and Chief Master Sgt. Raun Howell, the commander and command chief master sergeant for the 6th Air Refueling Wing, said in a video update from the base that “things are looking better than forecasted.”
“Right now, we’re seeing many downed trees from wind damage,” Howell said in the video. “There are only a few facilities … with visible roof damage, but roads are the primary concern.”
Similarly, Navy installations were also starting to analyze the damage at their bases in Mayport and Jacksonville, Florida, as well as coastal Georgia.
Arwen FitzGerald, a Navy Region Southeast spokesperson, told Military.com “we are continuing to assess damage” but added that “Naval Station Mayport, NAS Jacksonville and Submarine Base Kings Bay experienced minimal damage from Hurricane Milton.”
The National Guard has mobilized more than 6,500 Guardsmen and upward of 500 high-water vehicles, 26 helicopters and more than a dozen watercraft from various states just to respond to Hurricane Milton, Ryder said Thursday.
At least five people have been reported dead and three million were without power Thursday afternoon in Florida from Milton and tornados that formed in the storm’s wake, the Associated Press reported Thursday afternoon.
Notably, there was also still a major military response underway in the Southeast, especially North Carolina, due to widespread devastation and flooding caused by Hurricane Helene.
Ryder detailed that the National Guard has an estimated 5,000 Guardsmen, 80 high-water vehicles and 50 helicopters from 17 states assisting in those recovery efforts. Additionally, more than 1,500 active-duty service members are deployed in North Carolina, too, he added.
At least 230 people were killed in the aftermath of Helene, the AP reported.
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