Palmetto, Florida. (October 30, 2024): As Florida’s National Guard completes its duties helping Floridians recover from Hurricane Milton, the extent of their efforts is coming into view. In the above photo, Army Private First Class Victoria N. Torres, assigned to Charlie Battery, 3rd Battalion, 265th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, welcomes a spontaneous hug from a toddler while patrolling a neighborhood to reassure residents before the storm. Soldiers returned to the neighborhood after the storm to confirm its residents, including the child’s family, were safe.

Newly released statistics reveal the extent of efforts by National Guard troopers to rescue their neighbors after this devastating hurricane. According to the National Weather Service, Milton came ashore packing winds of 105 mph that generated a six-foot storm surge and spawned forty-six tornadoes as it raced through the center of the state. The tornadoes, the most in one day in 70 years, killed six people while causing an estimated thirty-four billion dollars in damage.

The Florida Guard activated 6,700 Soldiers and Airmen who helped rescue 330 people and thirty-nine animals, cleared over two thousand miles of roadways, and hauled away over five thousand cubic yards of debris. Additionally, the troops distributed four hundred thousand Meals Ready to Eat, eighteen thousand bags of ice, and over twenty-six thousand tarps to residents whose roofs were blown away.

Thousands of Floridians have expressed their gratitude in phone calls, letters to the editor, and the occasional hug.