At least 14 people have been killed in Florida after Hurricane Milton's tornadoes and floods wreaked havoc on the US state.

Hurricane Milton struck the Florida Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm at 8:30 pm on Wednesday before moving into the Atlantic, causing downed trees and power lines to block roads. Some three million homes and businesses were left without electricity as the hurricane tore through the state. 

Authorities reported that at least 14 people have been confirmed dead in the aftermath of the storm, including six in St. Lucie County along Florida's Atlantic coast. Approximately 11 million people are currently at risk of flash and river flooding.

So far, at least 340 individuals have been rescued in Florida, as floods persist in some areas.

The Fitch credit rating agency estimated that property damage from Hurricane Milton could result in insured losses between $30 billion and $50 billion, marking the highest total from a storm in two years, pushing the total annual insured losses for insurers in the state to over $100 billion for the fifth consecutive year.

Trump uses hurricane to take a jab at Harris

US President Joe Biden, in light of the intensity and hazards of the hurricane, urged residents to stay inside their homes as power outages darken Florida, citing downed power lines and debris which create dangerous conditions.

"We know from previous hurricanes that it is often the case that more lives are lost in the days following the storm than actually during the storm itself," he said. 

Former President Donald Trump used the hurricane to make political jabs at Biden and Harris, saying they abandoned the victims of the disaster. 

In a video posted on social media, Trump and his wife Melania extended their prayers for those impacted by the storm, urging them to vote for him in the upcoming elections. "Hopefully, on January 20th you're going to have somebody that's really going to help you and help you like never before," he said. 

This prompted an angry response from Biden, who called Trump "reckless and irresponsible," and urged Congress to rapidly pass more disaster funding. 

Politicians' quarrel 

The United States was barely recovering from Hurricane Helene only two weeks ago. At least 130 people lost their lives due to the storm and the subsequent flooding, with fatalities reported as follows: 57 in North Carolina, 29 in South Carolina, 25 in Georgia, 14 in Florida, four in Tennessee, and one in Virginia, according to local authorities and media reports compiled by AFP.

Back then, a similar pattern of exploitation of a natural disaster for political gain was also noted, with Trump accusing Biden of "sleeping" while Harris is somewhere else "campaigning for money". 

The White House angrily refuted claims about being slow to respond to the devastating storm that claimed the lives of at least 130, a topic further challenging the upcoming US election campaign. 

In a divisive twist, Biden accused former President Donald Trump of spreading lies, after Trump claimed the federal government was neglecting the disaster caused by Hurricane Helene and denying aid to his supporters.

"He's lying," Biden told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had spoken to North Carolina governor Ray Cooper "and he told him he's lying. I don't know why he does it... that's simply not true, and it's irresponsible." 

On CNN, Cooper, a Democrat, said, when asked about Trump's accusations of Republican victims being ignored, "It makes no difference who you are. If you need help, we are going to provide it," explaining, "And if there is ever a time where we all need to come together and put politics aside, it is now."