Hurricane Milton leaves at least 16 dead as Florida cleans up

Coast Guard Air Station Miami helicopter crew rescuing a man, on October 10, approximately 30 miles off Longboat Key, Florida, following Hurricane Milton. [AFP]

The death toll from Hurricane Milton rose to at least 16 on Friday, officials in Florida said, as residents began the painful process of piecing their lives and homes back together.

Nearly 2.5 million households and businesses were still without power, and some areas in the path cut through the Sunshine State by the monster storm from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean remained flooded.