Floridians begin the painful work of recovery after Hurricane Milton tore through their state less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene.
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00:00Gerald Gilchrist wades into the flooded street that runs through his battered neighborhood.
00:05The 77-year-old Floridian rode out Hurricane Milton unsure of what would happen to him and his home,
00:11but determined to stick it out.
00:13It was an experience that I only think I got left in my life.
00:18If it was going to go, I was going to go too.
00:21So I was trying to protect it.
00:24But if I had to do it again, I don't think I would.
00:28Matter of fact, during the storm, I thought about that, that I made a bad decision.
00:34Still, this is the worst storm he's seen in 11 years in this state.
00:38And other long-term residents of his hurricane-prone region agree.
00:42At the Atlanta Motor Speedway in neighboring Georgia,
00:45over a dozen Florida families are waiting until it's safe to go home.
00:49In any previous storm, including Helene, just two weeks ago,
00:53Michael Clem wouldn't have considered evacuating, much less fleeing the state.
00:58But this hurricane was unlike anything he'd ever seen.
01:02None of the other storms, I've been there for 36 years in the same area.
01:06Never once have I been scared.
01:08Like, I got to get up and go.
01:10Maybe go to a little bit safer location, higher elevation,
01:13because there were some times I lived on the water.
01:16But for the most part, it was just stay where I'm at, I'm good.
01:20This is the first one in 35 years that I was scared of.
01:23The family's hero relieved their home seemed to have escaped serious damage.
01:27But not everyone is so lucky.
01:29Crystal Coleman's house was one of those destroyed by the many tornadoes the hurricane spawned.
01:34For her, the shock of a loss is coupled with an uncertain future.
01:38I need somewhere to stay at.
01:40I need somewhere to lay my head, me and my daughter.
01:43I need clothing. My clothes are destroyed.
01:46Everything inside of my house is destroyed.
01:48The U.S. government is working on a response.
01:51President Joe Biden even suggested Congress come back from recess to speed up recovery.
01:56But on the ground in Florida, many who made it through the storm are still in survival mode.
02:01Chris Ma, Jon Van Triest, and Bryn Thomas for Taiwan Plus.