At least 13 dead after Hurricane Milton hits Florida as Category 3 storm

In a collaboration with T-Mobile, Elon Musk's Starlink is offering direct-to-cell service for areas impacted by Hurricane Milton.

Elon Musk says he has accelerated the rollout of Starlink to directly connect to cell phones.

This, after SpaceX said the FCC "rapidly approved emergency special temporary authority for coverage in Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton."

"We have accelerated the rollout of Starlink direct to cell phone connectivity for areas affected by the hurricanes," Musk wrote on X early Wednesday morning. "This is being provided free of charge by SpaceX and TMobile to help those in need," he added.

If a phone connects to a Starlink satellite, it will have one to two bars of signal and show "T-Mobile SpaceX" in the network name, according to SpaceX.

"Users may have to manually retry text messages if they don't go through at first, as this is being delivered on a best-effort basis," the company wrote on X.

"The service works best outdoors, and occasionally works indoors near a window," SpaceX added.

READ MORE: How to connect to emergency satellite on iPhone and Android during cell service outages

President Joe Biden is urging Floridians hit by Hurricane Milton overnight to "stay inside and off the roads."

"Downed power lines, debris, and road washouts are creating dangerous conditions," Biden wrote on X on Thursday. "Help is on the way, but until it arrives, shelter in place until your local officials say it's safe to go out."

Biden spoke again on Thursday with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, telling the governor "he will provide any support the state needs," according to the White House.

Hurricane Milton "thankfully" spared Florida "the worst-case scenario," Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning.

About 80,000 people evacuated to shelters overnight as the storm battered the state, DeSantis said.

Forty-eight people have been rescued by Florida National Guard search and rescue teams so far, and responders remain "laser-focused" on rescue efforts on Thursday, he said.

Rain totals reached a whopping 18 inches in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties, DeSantis said. And the threat isn't over; flooding is expected to continue the next few days, the governor warned.

-ABC News' Beatrice Peterson

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