Hurricane Elsa Hits Florida

Hurricane Elsa hit Florida’s northern Gulf Coast Wednesday, a spokesman for Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The storm hasn’t created notable state damage, the spokesman told the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF). There are no reports of deaths or hospitals experiencing power outages, which was a major problem in past storms, the spokesman said.

There were 26,000 Tampa Bay residents dealing with power outages in Hillsborough, Pinellas and Polk counties, the spokesman said. There are more than 10,000 workers trying to bring back electricity.

“Clearly, this could have been worse,” DeSantis said at a morning news conference. “Be very careful when you’re working to clear debris.”

Several northern Florida counties received Tornado warnings on Wednesday morning with heavy rain, winds and floods expected, the spokesman said.

“We’re fortunate to see minimal damage & flooding this morning, but it’s important to keep safety top of mind. Be aware of your surroundings & don’t drive through flood waters,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said.

Florida is also working to find the bodies of missing people in a collapsed oceanfront condo in Surfside, a town located in Miami before Hurricane Elsa appeared.

Ten more bodies were recovered Wednesday as the search and rescue mission reached its 14th day. “Unfortunately, we are not seeing anything positive,” county fire chief Alan Cominsky said Tuesday night.

The collapsed condo was demolished Sunday night to create more room for search-and-rescue efforts.