Milton leaves millions of homes without power and spawns 150 tornadoes across Florida. At least 4 dead are reported
— Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, where it knocked out power to more than 3 million customers and whipped up 150 tornadoes. The storm caused at least four deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.
The system tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. Damage was widespread, and water levels may continue to rise for days, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not “the worst-case scenario.”
The deadly storm surge feared for Tampa never materialized, though the storm dumped up to 18 inches (45 centimeters) of rain in some parts of the area, the governor said. The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters) — lower than in the worst place during Helene.
“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” DeSantis said. “We’ve got more to do, but we will absolutely get through this.”
As dawn broke Thursday, officials repeated that the danger had not passed: Storm-surge warnings were posted for much of the east-central Florida coast and north into Georgia. Tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast of South Carolina. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota, and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges, and flooding.
The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3.4 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field — home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg — was ripped to shreds by fierce winds. It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside. Before the storm hit, first responders were moved from a staging area there.
The post Florida: Flooding and destruction in the aftermath of Milton first appeared on The Yucatan Times.