Power still out for many in Brevard.
Over 43,000 people in Brevard County were still without power Friday morning. That number is down from 115,000 FPL customers who were in the dark immediately after the storm.
The National Weather Service confirms it was an EF1 tornado that hit Cocoa Beach Wednesday evening. The twister ripped the roof off a Wells Fargo bank, and damaged 6 to 8 businesses in the Publix plaza on A1A.
What to do with unused sandbags.
Maybe you got some of the 15,000 sandbags that the City of Melbourne distributed. The question is: what to do with them now? Don’t leave them at the curb; they won’t be picked up. You could store filled sandbags in a dry area out of the sun, like your garage, for some future storm. Or you can cut off the top of the bag, distribute the sand around your lawn, and throw away the empty bag.
How to help storm victims.
Here’s some advice on how to best help victims of Hurricane Milton. It’s better to donate cash than physical items, like clothes or food. Cash offers responders and victims flexibility and can be used immediately. It’s best to give to charities already working in the affected areas, such as local branches of the United Way, the Red Cross, or local grassroots organizations.
Loans for impacted small businesses.
If your small business was impacted by Milton, $50 million in emergency bridge loans are available. Contact FloridaJobs.org to apply. The program provides short-term, zero-interest loans from the State of Florida to small businesses that experienced economic injury or physical damage due to Hurricane Milton. These are not grants - the funds need to be re-paid.
Florida threatens TV stations airing abortion-rights video.
The Florida Department of Health is demanding that two TV stations pull an ad, which urges voters to defeat the state’s six-week abortion ban. The state is threatening criminal charges against WCJB in Gainesville and WFLA in Tampa for airing a political ad calling for repeal of the six-week abortion ban. The Department of Health said the ad was a violation of Florida’s “sanitary nuisance law,” which is commonly used to charge people with overflowing septic tanks.
Falcon Heavy may launch Sunday.
Once NASA teams have finished their inspection of Kennedy Space Center for damage from Hurricane Milton, they may give a “go” for launching a spacecraft to Jupiter. A Falcon Heavy will send the Europa Clipper spacecraft to explore Jupiter’s icy moon, Europa. The launch date is tentative, but will be no earlier than noon this Sunday. Expect sonic booms as the twin first stage boosters return for a landing on the Cape.
In other space news, the massive SpaceX Starship is getting very close to launching from Texas. That launch may also occur as soon as Sunday morning - it’s pending final regulatory approval. For the first time, SpaceX will attempt to grab the Super Heavy Booster for a landing using chopsticks on the launch tower. The Starship itself will do a controlled descent into the Indian Ocean.
Great weekend weather - terrible beach conditions.
Hurricane Milton is giving us a reward: great weather for this weekend. Sunny skies with temperatures in the low 80’s. But the National Weather Service in Melbourne says conditions at Space Coast beaches will be dangerous. Expect a high risk of rip-currents, large breaking waves and coastal flooding. Don’t even think of going in the water.
