Floridians return home to clean up after two hurricanes without fuel or electricity

(CNN) –Florida residents beset by damage from Hurricanes Helen and Milton face the daunting task of cleaning up, but many are without power or fuel.

As roads are blocked by fallen trees and flooding, fuel providers and power companies are working to restore and keep the infrastructure of daily life running, and police are helping rescue efforts by escorting fuel tankers trying to reach those in need.

The White House has announced that President Joe Biden will visit Florida to assess damage from the storm. He will take an aerial tour of some of the worst-hit areas to speak in St. Petersburg on Sunday morning.

These are the latest news:

– Gas stations still waiting for fuel: According to the monitoring website, 30% of the state’s gas stations were out of fuel by early Sunday GasBuddy.com. In the hardest-hit area, Tampa-St. In the Sarasota area, 62%. In the Ft. Myers and Naples area, 42%, and in Orlando, 35%. More than 37.3 million gallons of fuel were loaded into Florida ports, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the state’s Division of Emergency Management. “We now have 25 Florida Highway Patrol troopers rushing fuel tankers from the port so they can be brought in to fill up the stations,” said Gov. Ron DeSantis. Three public fuel stations are open in Plant City, Bradenton and St. Petersburg, where customers can get 10 gallons of gas each for free. More will open this Sunday in Charlotte, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, the governor said.

– Gradually power supply is restored: By early Sunday morning, more than a million people were without power across the state, up from nearly 3 million. Crews across the country are working to reconnect homes and businesses to the grid. Power companies estimate that most people will have power by mid-week.

– St. Petersburg offers gas stations and charging stations: The city of St. Petersburg has set up temporary stations to help residents in need, with a place to charge their phones and pick up essential items like bottled water, batteries and tarps. The city is under a boil water advisory due to multiple pipe breaks and 25 crews are collecting debris from the streets. “We’ve endured two storms in less than two weeks. It’s unprecedented from a debris standpoint, but it’s our top priority to clean up the city and get it back to normal,” said Mike Jeffries, city sanitation manager.

– President Biden approves a major disaster declaration: President Joe Biden has approved a major disaster declaration for the state this Saturday, according to FEMA. “Federal disaster assistance is available to the State of Florida to support recovery efforts in areas affected by Hurricane Milton” beginning Oct. 5, a FEMA news release said. Biden’s approval makes funding available to residents of more than 30 counties affected by Milton, according to the release. The fund includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs.

The flood continues to slowly recover

Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said Saturday that Milton is experiencing flooding following 16 inches of rain, making it difficult for the area to recover from the storm.

“The water didn’t recede as quickly as we all wanted it to, so this recovery is going to take a lot longer,” Chronister said.

Meanwhile, the National Weather Service’s Tampa Bay office continued flood warnings for rivers in Hillsborough, Sarasota and Manatee counties this Saturday, with some remaining in effect, according to the weather service.

The Alafia River in Lithia (Florida) and the Hillsborough River in the Tampa area were still at high flood levels earlier this Sunday.

A CNN team that toured the Valrico neighborhood in Hillsborough County this Saturday, along with the sheriff’s office, found widespread flooding on several blocks, with yards and garages covered in water. Some residents said they had never seen such severe flooding in their decades of living there.

Hillsborough County crews completed more than 300 rescues in 48 hours, Chronister said Saturday, adding that crews are working around the clock.

Dozens of Florida drivers, who may be short on fuel for days, waited in long lines outside gas stations Saturday hoping to fill up their tanks and cans as shortages persist in hard-hit areas of the state.

Some told CNN they had to use word of mouth to find out which stations had gas. Drone images this Saturday morning showed long lines of drivers huddled on either side of Thornton’s gas station in Oldsmar, Pinellas County.

One of those lines, made up of at least 20 drivers, stretched across the intersection to allow other drivers to pass, the video showed. But some stations got relief Saturday, including Wawa in Valrico, Florida, where Hillsborough County sheriff’s deputies escorted a gas tanker truck as several drivers waited for a chance to use the pumps.

The video shows a man standing outside a parked white pickup truck giving a thumbs-up gesture of thanks as the tanker truck stopped. Paula Gast told CNN her family visited four or five different gas stations on Friday, but all were closed.

This Saturday they got a call from a friend saying there was gas at the Wawa gas station. “So my son and I immediately ran here and we were in line for an hour and a half, literally gassed,” the actor said.

CNN’s Sam Fossum contributed to this report.