The president will visit communities ravaged by Hurricane Milton on Sunday. The disaster declaration will enable funds for the state to be deployed.

Hurricane Milton strengthened as it churned through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida on Tuesday and could wallop one of the state’s major population centers with huge storm surges, lashing rain and destructive winds just two weeks after deadly Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline.

Hurricane Milton's destructive path across Florida may not have been as catastrophic as initially feared, but it still could disrupt the state’s insurance market, which is already a political flashpoint in the nation’s third-largest state.