Greenhouse and nursery-grown plants, particularly holiday poinsettias, might be in short supply and cost more because of damage after Hurricane Milton.

Two weeks later and the cleanup is far from over after back-to-back major storms in the south. The governor of North Carolina now says Hurricane Helene likely caused a record $53 billion in damages. The previous record there was $17 billion.

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The start of “snowbird” season in Florida is only weeks away, but many Florida Gulf Coast beaches, regularly voted some of the best in the United States, are closed to the public because of the devastation from Hurricane Milton two weeks ago.

Nearly two weeks after Hurricane Milton tore through Central Florida, some areas remain submerged, with residents in parts of Orange City still relying on boats to get around.

Hurricane Milton appears to have hit jobs in Florida harder than Hurricane Helene, which slammed the Gulf Coast Sept. 26. That week saw 9,377 initial unemployment claims, at the time the highest number of filings this year. That was up 3,842 claims over the previous week.

The Gulf Coast of Florida was immensely impacted by Milton, hitting as a Category 3 hurricane 120-mph sustained winds. See damage in cities counties.