FEMA Director Deanne Criswell indicated the impacts from Hurricane Milton could have been far worse, saying Thursday morning Florida dodged the “worst-case scenario.”
“What we know for sure is we avoided that worst-case scenario that we were planning for,” Criswell told CNN’s Kate Bolduan. “But the fact that they prepared for the worst really made sure that they were able to respond to the impacts that they have experienced, and the biggest ones right now are the tornadoes that have been reported across the state.”
That does not mean, however, the state will not need resources, said Criswell, whose agency has also been responding to the devastation wrought throughout the Southeast just weeks ago by Hurricane Helene. But Florida will not need “the level” of resources “that perhaps we could have needed,” Criswell said.
Criswell also said she saw a “decrease” of misinformation in the wake of Milton making landfall.
“As we’ve looked from Hurricane Helene, we’ve had such great support from governors and congressional members, local leaders really helping to push back on that misinformation,” Criswell said. “We did see a decrease, even though there were still some voices out there trying to spread these lies, which is really unfortunate.”
