[Extracted and modified from Reuters] – Hurricane Milton made landfall at Siesta Key on Wednesday night, bringing with it destructive winds and heavy rainfall. The powerful storm has now moved off Florida’s eastern coast, but its impact continues to be felt across the region.
Authorities reported significant damage to homes, with many structures either heavily damaged or destroyed. More than 3 million people across the state are currently without power as crews work to restore electricity.
View of the damaged roof of Tropicana Field stadium in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. on October 10, 2024. REUTERS/Octavio Jones
The storm, which had intensified rapidly in the hours leading up to landfall, is now moving away from Florida, but experts warn that the danger is not yet over. A risk of storm surge remains, particularly along the coast of southern Georgia, where rising waters could cause further damage in the coming days.
Residents of affected areas are being urged to remain cautious as recovery efforts begin. Local emergency services are working tirelessly to assist with evacuations, clear debris, and provide aid to those in need.
Meteorologists are continuing to monitor the storm’s movement as it heads further north, while recovery operations are underway to assess the full extent of the damage.
A drone view shows buildings and structures damaged in Venice, Florida, U.S., October 10, 2024. REUTERS/Marco Bello
“We’ll survey the damage and get people on their feet,” Florida governor Ron DeSantis said. “We’ll get through this.”
“Our state is a peninsula in the middle of a tropical environment. I mean, we are just built to be able to respond to hurricanes,” DeSantis said.
He added that workers had been trying to clear debris overnight, and that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration had agreed to all of Florida’s requests for emergency assistance.
At least four people died in St. Lucie County as Hurricane Milton tore across Florida overnight, CNN reported on Thursday, citing county officials.
The storm flattened a retirement community in the county, CNN said, citing the local sheriff. It follows other network reports overnight of fatalities in the area.
Hurricane Milton marched across Florida early Thursday, whipping up deadly tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power to more than 3 million customers.
Volusia County Fire Rescue personnel respond to an emergency call in flood waters before dawn as Hurricane Milton moved through central Florida, in south Daytona, Florida, October 10. Nadia Zomorodian/News-Journal/USA Today Network
But the Tampa Bay metropolitan area appeared to have escaped without the catastrophic flooding that had been feared.
Authorities were still waiting for rivers to crest but so far water levels were at or below what they received with Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said on Thursday morning.
“So we’ll have storm surge damage but nothing like it could have been. It could have been catastrophic for Tampa Bay,” she told MSNBC.
The storm hit Florida’s west coast on Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with top sustained winds of 120 mph(205 kph). While still a dangerous storm, this was less violent than the rare Category 5 hurricane that had threatened the state as it trekked over the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.
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