The death toll from Hurricane Milton rose to at least 16 on Friday, according to Florida officials, as residents began the arduous task of rebuilding their lives and homes.

Nearly 2.5 million households and businesses remained without power, and some areas from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean were still flooded.

Milton made landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, with powerful winds hitting communities still recovering from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, which killed 237 people across the US southeast, including Florida.

It appears that tornadoes, rather than floodwaters, were responsible for many of the storm’s deaths.

“It was pretty scary,” said Susan Stepp, a 70-year-old resident of Fort Pierce, where four people died in a tornado spawned by Milton. “They did find some people just outside dead, in a tree,” she told AFP. “I wish they would have evacuated.” Her husband Bill added that a tornado “picked up my 22-ton motor home and threw it across the yard.”

“Scary and heartbreaking at the same time, to see so much damage and all things you really love just gone, but it’s only things, and we’re still here,” the 72-year-old said.

Local officials reported that at least six people were killed in St. Lucie County, four in Volusia County, two in Pinellas County, and one each in Hillsborough, Polk, Orange, and Citrus counties.

The storm downed power lines, shredded the roof of the Tampa baseball stadium, and inundated homes, but Florida avoided the catastrophic devastation that officials had feared.

“The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario,” Governor Ron DeSantis said at a news conference.

The National Weather Service issued 126 tornado warnings across the state on Wednesday, the most ever issued for a single day in Florida since records began in 1986, according to hurricane expert Michael Lowry.

“It is not easy to think you have everything and suddenly you have nothing,” said Lidier Rodriguez, who was forced to leave his flooded apartment near Tampa Bay.

Search operations continued on Friday, and the Coast Guard reported the dramatic rescue of a boat captain who survived the storm by clinging to a cooler in the Gulf of Mexico.

“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” said Dana Grady, the US Coast Guard’s Sector St. Petersburg command center chief.

President Joe Biden urged people to stay indoors in the aftermath of the storm, citing dangerous conditions from downed power lines and debris.

In a video posted on social media, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he and his wife Melania were praying for Florida residents affected by the storm and urged them to vote for him.

“Hopefully, on January 20th you’re going to have somebody that’s really going to help you and help you like never before,” the former president said, referring to the presidential inauguration date.

Hurricane Helene struck Florida late last month, and the back-to-back storms have become election fodder as Trump spreads conspiracy theories claiming Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris are abandoning victims.

Biden responded on Thursday, telling Trump to “get a life.”

Scientists say extreme rainfall and destructive storms are occurring with greater severity and frequency as temperatures rise due to climate change. As warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, they provide more energy for storms as they form.

“There is no question it needs to be a serious wake-up call for everyone in terms of climate change,” said Kristin Joyce, a 72-year-old interior designer, as she surveyed the damage in Sarasota Bay.