A benefit raising money for relief efforts in the wake of Hurricanes Helene and Milton will be broadcast Saturday night on CBS and CMT, two divisions of Paramount Global, the parent company of CBS News. The hourlong “United Way Benefit for Hurricane Relief” will air at 8 p.m. ET/PT, and it will also be streamed on Paramount+ with Showtime, Paramount Global and United Way announced Wednesday.

The benefit will feature performances from Clay Aiken, Tyler Hubbard, Chris Janson, Jonathan McReynolds and Brittney Spencer.

The Backstreet Boys, Billy Bob Thornton, Billy Burke, Blake Shelton, Carly Pearce, Cedric The Entertainer, Cody Alan, Jackson Dean, JB SMOOVE, Kelsea Ballerini, Max Thieriot, “CBS Mornings” co-host Nate Burleson, “The Late Show” host Stephen Colbert, Taye Diggs and the Zac Brown Band will also make appearances during the show.

The benefit aims to raise money for relief and recovery efforts following the back-to-back storms that wreaked havoc in the Southeast in September and October and killed scores of people.

While Milton raked across the Florida peninsula in early October, Helene moved deep inland after it made landfall in late September, causing catastrophic flooding in North Carolina.

“Paramount Global and its brands are proud to collaborate with United Way Worldwide on the ‘United Way Benefit for Hurricane Relief’ in reaching audiences across the U.S. to help those impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton,” Melissa C. Potter, executive director of Content for Change at Paramount Global and a United Way Worldwide board of trustees member, said in a statement.

“I have seen firsthand how United Way rallies local leaders, cross-sector partners and the community to aid people during times of crisis, and the resources raised by this benefit event will help those in need to recover and rebuild,” Potter said.

The benefit was taped Monday and Tuesday in Nashville, Tennessee.

Floridians recovering from Hurricane Milton, many of whom were journeying home after fleeing hundreds of miles to escape the storm, spent much of Saturday searching for gas as a fuel shortage gripped the state.

In St. Petersburg, scores of people lined up at a station that had no gas, hoping it would arrive soon. Among them was Daniel Thornton and his 9-year-old daughter Magnolia, who arrived at the station at 7 a.m. and were still waiting four hours later.

“They told me they have gas coming but they don’t know when it’s going to be here,” he said. “I have no choice. I have to sit here all day with her until I get gas.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Saturday morning that the state opened three fuel distribution sites and planned to open several more. Residents can get 10 gallons each, free of charge, he said.

“Obviously as power gets restored…and the Port of Tampa is open, you’re going to see the fuel flowing. But in the meantime, we want to give people another option,” DeSantis said.

About one in three gas stations across the state were still closed Saturday, many of which are unable to operate because they are still without power, causing a bottleneck for those that are open.

DeSantis said that 37 million gallons of gas arrived at Florida ports Saturday.

“We have Florida Highway Patrol that will escort the tankers from the ports to the respective service stations,” DeSantis said.

Tensions boiled over at one gas station north of Tampa Saturday over the long wait times.

“They were fighting, like fist fighting,” Tootie Jones, a gas station security guard, told CBS News. “One girl hit another girl with a car.”

In the community of Brandon east of Tampa, one woman said she had been waiting in line for gas for two hours. 

Milton killed at least 23 people when it tore across central Florida on Wednesday, flooding barrier islands, ripping the roof off the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium and spawning deadly tornadoes.

Officials say the toll could have been worse if not for the widespread evacuations. Overall, more than a thousand people had been rescued in the wake of the storm as of Saturday, DeSantis said.

The still-fresh devastation wrought by Hurricane Helene just two weeks earlier probably helped compel many people to flee.

“Helene likely provided a stark reminder of how vulnerable certain areas are to storms, particularly coastal regions,” said Craig Fugate, who served as administrator for the Federal Emergency Management Agency under President Barack Obama. “When people see firsthand what can happen, especially in neighboring areas, it can drive behavior change in future storms.”

More than 1.2 million customers in Florida remained without power Saturday evening, according to Find Energy. The White House said 50,000 workers, many from across the U.S. are working to restore power.

CBS News traveled Saturday the hard-hit community of Valrico east of Tampa, where floodwaters swallowed up entire neighborhoods.

Terry Rudd and his family are just now returning to see what’s left of their home.

“This is going to be a mess here to try to rebuild,” Rudd said.

The Rudd family lost a car, and the floor of their home is caving in.

“We’re gonna cry, we’re gonna cry a lot after this,” family member Tiffany Nagy said. “The love we have in this family will always be there.”

Many Florida residents, meanwhile, were grateful to be coming back alive.

“I love my house, but I’m not dying in it,” Fred Neuman said Friday while walking his dog outside a rest stop off Interstate 75 north of Tampa.

Neuman and his wife live in Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a powerful, Category 3 hurricane. Heeding local evacuation orders ahead of the storm, they drove nearly 500 miles to Destin on the Florida Panhandle. Neighbors told the couple the hurricane destroyed their carport and inflicted other damage but Neuman shrugged, saying their insurance should cover it.

About 30 miles north in Zephyrhills, a CBS News crew joined the Pasco County Fire Rescue team as they waded through the water to ensure everyone got out of their homes safely.

“These are all brand new homes. These were all built within the last year and a half to two years, so they obviously went a little higher on the ground for them and they’re good still but … the original homes in this neighborhood are suffering the consequences of the three hurricanes,” a rescuer told CBS News.

The golf course community has faced flooding from hurricanes Debby, Helene and Milton, leaving the already saturated ground with little room to handle even more water.

Lee and Pamela Essenburm evacuated their home in Palmetto, on the south end of Tampa Bay, fearing Milton might hit as a catastrophic Category 4 or 5 storm.

“I wasn’t going to take a chance on it,” Lee Essenbaum said. “It’s not worth it.”

On Saturday, President Biden approved a disaster declaration for the state of Florida that makes federal funding available to affected individuals in the following counties: Brevard, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, DeSoto, Duval, Flagler, Glades, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lake, Lee, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, and Volusia and the Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.

Assistance can include grants for temporary housing and home repairs, low-cost loans to cover uninsured property losses and other programs to help people and businesses recover after Milton.

“This is ridiculous. We need power out here. We need help out here,” said Mia Watson, a resident of Palm Beach Gardens.

Tornadoes wrought unexpected damage

Tony Brazzale, a diving boat captain who has lived for 10 years in his Wellington home in southeastern Florida, wasn’t worried about Hurricane Milton. The storm’s center was forecast to land on the opposite side of the peninsula and then cross the state well to the north of his family.

But on Wednesday afternoon as the hurricane began to pummel the state, he stood outside his house and watched as a tornado loomed in the sky. He took a video on his phone. The pressure dropped, and his wife said her ears were popping. It was time to go inside.

The twister shattered windows in the home, tore off roof shingles, ripped a tree from the ground and left branches and other debris scattered in the yard. Two days later Brazzale was wearing safety goggles and using a chainsaw as he cleaned up the damage.

“The hurricane was a nonevent for us,” he said. “Had it not been for an F-3 tornado, the entire thing would have been a nonevent for us.”

It was one of dozens of tornadoes spawned by Milton that hit South Florida far from where the storm made landfall near Sarasota. One of them killed at least six people in Spanish Lakes Country Club Village near Fort Pierce, about an hour’s drive north from Wellington.

Meteorologists believe there may have been at least 38 tornadoes associated with Milton. The National Weather Service is still reviewing preliminary reports, which could take weeks, but it issued 126 tornado warnings in the state the day the hurricane hit.

When the review is complete, the storm could crack the all-time top-10 list for most tornadoes caused by a hurricane.

One of those twisters narrowly missed Tom Perusi’s home, but it easily tossed his boat.

“We went into the bathroom, our concrete bathroom and stayed there,” he told CBS News. “And with the whole shook it, just everything shook. And when we got out, I took it serious. I thought I was all ready. I was ready for everything, not a tornado.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis warned people to not let down their guard, however, citing ongoing safety threats including downed power lines and standing water that could hide dangerous objects.

“We’re now in the period where you have fatalities that are preventable,” DeSantis said Friday. “You have to make the proper decisions and know that there are hazards out there.”

Tom Hanson

contributed to this report.

As an award-winning scientist, Peter Dodge had made hundreds of flights into the eyes of hurricanes — almost 400. On Tuesday, a crew on a reconnaissance flight into Hurricane Milton helped him make one more, dropping his ashes into the storm as a lasting tribute to the longtime National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radar specialist and researcher.

“It’s very touching,” Dodge’s sister, Shelley Dodge, said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press. “We knew it was a goal of NOAA to make it happen.”

The ashes were released into the eye of the hurricane Tuesday night, less than 24 hours before Milton made landfall in Siesta Key near Sarasota, Florida. An in-flight observations log, which charts information such as position and wind speed, ended with a reference to Dodge’s 387th — and final — flight.

“He’s loved that aspect of his job,” Shelley Dodge said. “It’s bittersweet. On one hand, a hurricane’s coming and you don’t want that for people. But on the other hand, I really wanted this to happen.”

Dodge died in March 2023 at age 72 of complications from a fall and a stroke, his sister said.

The Miami resident spent 44 years in federal service. Among his awards were several for technology used to study Hurricane Katrina’s destructive winds in 2005.

He also was part of the crew aboard a reconnaissance flight into Hurricane Hugo in 1989 that experienced severe turbulence and saw one of its four engines catch fire.

“They almost didn’t get out of the eye,” Shelley Dodge said.

Items inside the plane were torn loose and tossed about the cabin. After dumping excess fuel and some heavy instruments to enable the flight to climb further, an inspection found no major damage to the plane and it continued on. The plane eventually exited the storm with no injuries to crew members, according to NOAA.

A degenerative eye disorder eventually prevented Dodge from going on further reconnaissance flights.

Shelley Dodge said NOAA had kept her informed on when her brother’s final mission would occur and she relayed the information to relatives.

“There were various times where they thought all the pieces were going to fall in place but it had to be the right combination, the research flight. All of that had to come together,” she said. “It finally did on the 8th. I didn’t know for sure until they sent me the official printout that showed exactly where it happened in the eye.”

Dodge had advanced expertise in radar technology with a keen interest in tropical cyclones, according to a March 2023 newsletter by NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory announcing his death.

The newsletter said colleagues were “saddened by the sudden and tragic loss of one of its longtime meteorologists,” who died peacefully on March 3. 

He collaborated with the National Hurricane Center and Aircraft Operations Center on airborne and land-based radar research. During hurricane aircraft missions, he served as the onboard radar scientist and conducted radar analyses. Later, he became an expert in radar data processing, the newsletter said. He received a Department of Commerce Bronze Medal, two NOAA Administrator Awards and the Army Corp of Engineers Patriotic Civilian Service Award.

Dodge’s ashes were contained in a package. Among the symbols draped on it was the flag of Nepal, where he spent time as a Peace Corps volunteer teaching math and science to high school students before becoming a meteorologist.

Hurricane specialist Michael Lowry shared a photo on social media of the NOAA log noting the ashes were dropped calling it a “beautiful tribute.”

Beautiful tribute from @NOAA_HurrHunter who earlier this evening honored longtime radar scientist and researcher Peter Dodge who passed away in March 2023.

His ashes were dropped in the eye of Category 5 Milton tonight –
PETER DODGE HX SCI (1950-2023) 387TH PENNY pic.twitter.com/BHjlQ0yhu7

— Michael Lowry (@MichaelRLowry) October 9, 2024

An avid gardener, Dodge also had a fondness for bamboo and participated in the Japanese martial art Aikido, attending a session the weekend before he died.

“He just had an intellectual curiosity that was undaunted, even after he lost his sight,” Shelley Dodge said.

The death toll from Hurricane Milton rose to at least 16 on Friday, officials in Florida said, as residents began the painful process of piecing their lives and homes back together.

Nearly 2.5 million households and businesses were still without power, and some areas in the path cut through the Sunshine State by the monster storm from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic Ocean remained flooded.

Milton crashed into the Florida Gulf Coast late on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, with powerful winds smashing communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, which killed 237 people across the US southeast, including in Florida.

So far, though, it appeared that tornadoes, rather than floodwaters, were responsible for many of the storm’s deaths.

“It was pretty scary,” said Susan Stepp, a 70-year-old resident of Fort Pierce, a city on Florida’s Atlantic coast where four people died in a tornado spawned by Milton.

“They did find some people just outside dead, in a tree,” she told AFP. “I wish they would have evacuated.” Stepp’s husband Bill said a tornado “picked up my 22-ton motor home and threw it across the yard.”

“Scary and heartbreaking at the same time, to see much damage and all things you really love just gone, but it’s only things, and we’re still here,” the 72-year-old said.

At least six people were killed in St Lucie County, four in Volusia County, two in Pinellas County, and one each in Hillsborough, Polk, Orange and Citrus counties, local officials said.

The storm downed power lines, shredded the roof of the Tampa baseball stadium and inundated homes, but Florida was able to avoid the level of catastrophic devastation that officials had feared.

“The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario,” Governor Ron DeSantis told a news conference.

The National Weather Service issued 126 tornado warnings across the state on Wednesday, the most ever issued for a single calendar day for the state in records dating back to 1986, wrote hurricane expert Michael Lowry.

“It is not easy to think you have everything and suddenly you have nothing,” said Lidier Rodriguez, who was forced to leave his flooded apartment near Tampa Bay.

‘Get a life’

Search operations were ongoing on Friday, and the Coast Guard reported the spectacular rescue of a boat captain who rode out the storm clinging to a cooler in the Gulf of Mexico.

“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” Dana Grady, the US Coast Guard’s Sector St Petersburg command centre chief, said in a statement.

President Joe Biden on Thursday urged people to stay inside in the aftermath of the storm, with downed power lines and debris creating dangerous conditions.

In a video posted on social media, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump said he and his wife Melania were praying for Florida residents affected by the storm and urged them to vote for him.

“Hopefully, on January 20th you’re going to have somebody that’s really going to help you and help you like never before,” the former president said, referring to the presidential inauguration date.

Hurricane Helene struck Florida late last month, and the back-to-back storms have become election fodder as Trump spreads conspiracy theories claiming Biden and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris are abandoning victims.

Biden snapped back on Thursday, telling Trump to “get a life.”

‘Wake-up call’

Scientists say extreme rainfall and destructive storms are occurring with greater severity and frequency as temperatures rise due to climate change. As warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapour, they provide more energy for storms as they form.

“There is no question it needs to be a serious wake-up call for everyone in terms of climate change,” Kristin Joyce, a 72-year-old interior designer, told AFP in Sarasota Bay as she surveyed the damage.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told CBS News on Wednesday evening that state authorities are “absolutely” prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Milton.

“We’ve got 50,000 linemen staged, ready for rapid power restoration,” DeSantis said. “We also have a full mobilization of the Florida National Guard, as well as receiving a lot of assets from other states, so it will be the largest search and rescue function that we’ve ever done.”

The governor said that “by and large, people heeded the call” to evacuate.

He said the state’s shelters have “plenty of room,” noting that they are designed to withstand a Category 3 storm.

“Look, at this point, if you’re in the west coast of Florida, it’s probably too dangerous to go to a shelter,” DeSantis said. “But one of the things we’ve done in Florida is stress that, when you shelter, you don’t have to get on the interstate and drive hundreds of miles. We have places, even in the counties that are in the eye of the storm, that are inland, that are not susceptible to storm surge, but that are hurricane-proof.”

DeSantis also addressed misinformation that has circulated online about relief efforts for both hurricanes Milton and Helene, calling it “nonsense.”

“I think there’s some people out there, we live in an age where you can monetize a lot of this nonsense online,” DeSantis said. “You can get a lot of clicks, but that is not true in Florida. So, we’re going to do it right, your property is going to be protected. And we’re going to make sure that you get back on your feet.”

Storm surges from Hurricane Milton could turn electric vehicles and other products containing lithium-ion batteries into “ticking time bombs,” Florida’s fire marshal is warning.

Residents and first responders are being cautioned about “an alarming fire hazard with lithium-ion batteries, EVs, as well as hybrid and fuel cell vehicles in preparation of Hurricane Milton,” according to a Monday statement from Florida fire marshal Jimmy Patronis, who also serves as the state’s chief financial officer.

By midday Wednesday, Hurricane Milton was barreling across the Gulf of Mexico as a powerful Category 4 storm, on track to make landfall along Florida’s central west coast late Wednesday or early Thursday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The fire marshal’s warning comes after prior incidents of floodwaters caused electric vehicles to burst into flames. Florida officials have confirmed 48 lithium-ion battery fires related to storm surge from Hurricane Helene, with 11 involving EVs. 

Beyond cars, other consumer products that can contain lithium-ion batteries include scooters, hoverboards, golf cars and toys.

Owners should relocate their EVs to higher ground where their vehicles will be at less risk of flooding, Patronis said. After the storm, EVs flooded by saltwater should be moved away from residences to safe locations, so “you can worry about fixing your home, instead of rebuilding it due to fire,” Patronis stated. 

And firefighters in Palm Harbor, Florida, last year warned Tesla owners their rechargeable car batteries could combust if exposed to saltwater after two of the electric vehicles caught fire following submersion.

Lithium-ion battery packs, which consist of a group of cells inside a compartment, contain a flammable liquid electrolyte. EV and plug-in hybrid vehicles have about 1,000 times more cells than an e-bike, according to a report by the CBS News Innovation Lab. Higher energy batteries with more cells are at greater risk of failure.

Vehicles or other devices that are at risk for flooding should be unplugged and moved to an open space, according to guidance from both Tesla and Patronis.

Tips if your EV, hybrid or alternative fuel vehicle is flooded:  

Leave all windows and/or doors open to allow any potentially flammable gases to vent from the passenger compartment.

If the vehicle is stored indoors and can be moved, move it outside into an open-air location. If it cannot be moved, try to keep the storage area open and vented.

Unplug and do not attempt to charge the vehicle.

Disable the vehicle by chocking the wheels, placing the gearshift in park and removing the ignition key and/or disconnecting the 12V battery.

Avoid contact with the high voltage battery especially if a vehicle is showing signs of a damaged or overheating HV battery.

Follow manufacturers recommendations for your specific vehicle. 

Tropical Storm Milton has formed in the Gulf of Mexico and is forecast to strengthen into a hurricane headed toward Florida with possible impacts to its western coast, the National Hurricane Center said on Saturday. 

Milton is forecast to undergo a period of rapid intensification and “bring the risk of life-threatening impacts to portions of the west coast of Florida next week,” the hurricane center said. It is forecast to become a hurricane Sunday night and strengthen into a major hurricane over the central and eastern Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center forecast. 

A major hurricane is defined as a Category 3 storm or larger with maximum sustained winds of at least 111 miles per hour. 

As of 5 p.m. Eastern Time Saturday, Milton was centered 245 miles north of Veracruz, Mexico, and 385 miles west-northwest of Veracruz, Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 40 mph and was inching north-northeast at 3 mph. 

Milton is forecast to move across the southwestern Gulf of Mexico through Sunday night then across the south-central Gulf on Monday and Tuesday before reaching Florida’s west coast by the middle of the week, the hurricane center said.   

The forecast comes a little more than a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and across the Southeast, killing at least 229 people in six states and causing immense destruction. President Biden on Thursday took an aerial tour of Florida’s Big Bend, where Helene struck as a Category 4 storm. Hundreds of people are still missing and Mr. Biden said the work to rebuild will cost “billions of dollars” as communities suffer still without power, running water and passable roads.

In a news release Saturday, the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Milton could bring “storm surge and heavy rainfall to areas recovering from hurricanes Helene and Debby and affect areas far from the coast.”

FEMA said it already had hundreds of staff in Florida assisting with Helene recovery who will also help prepare for Milton’s potential arrival. 

Heavy rain is possible in the region starting Sunday into Monday, CBS Miami reported, and more rain and heavy winds will most likely arrive on Wednesday. Hurricane and storm surge watches will most likely be required for portions of Florida starting Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said.

The hurricane center said rainfall totals of 5 to 12 inches are possible across the Florida Peninsula and the Florida Keys from Milton. Along with the heavy rainfall, the hurricane center said to expect risks of flooding.  

Residents in the area should ensure they have a hurricane plan in place, the hurricane center said, and follow the advice of local officials and check back for forecast updates.