Hurricane Milton moved into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, having carved a path of destruction across Florida. The storm, which triggered at least 19 tornadoes, destroyed homes and claimed at least four lives, though the feared catastrophic storm surge did not materialise.
Governor Ron DeSantis remarked that while the state had avoided the worst-case scenario, significant damage remained. The Tampa Bay area, which had faced dire warnings, escaped the worst of the storm surge.
Four deaths were reported on Florida’s east coast, with two occurring in St. Lucie’s Spanish Lakes retirement communities during Wednesday’s tornado outbreak, according to county spokesperson Erick Gill. It remains unclear whether the other two fatalities were in the same area, as reported by Reuters.
By Wednesday evening, around the time Milton made landfall, 19 tornadoes had been confirmed, according to DeSantis, with up to 45 reported throughout the day, mainly across central and eastern Florida, according to the National Weather Service.
More than three million homes and businesses were left without power on Thursday morning, many still awaiting restoration after Hurricane Helene struck two weeks ago, according to PowerOutage.us. One notable casualty of the storm was Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays, which suffered significant damage to its fabric roof, though no injuries were reported.
“We were spared the worst of the storm surge, and that was a blessing,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor in a morning press conference.
Although some neighbourhoods were flooded, much of Tampa saw toppled trees and power outages. The full extent of the damage would only be known once crews could assess the affected areas, Castor added.
Steven Cole Smith, a 71-year-old automotive writer from Tampa, described the experience, saying the windows shook violently during the storm. He and his wife chose not to evacuate due to concerns about conditions in central Florida, where they have another home. “I spent yesterday scavenging for supplies, fuel for the generator, everything we’d need,” Smith stated to Reuters.
Emergency crews responded to numerous calls overnight, including one incident where 15 people, including children, were rescued after a tree fell on a house, according to Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw.
While Sarasota County, where Milton made landfall, experienced the most storm surge, the greatest damage came from tornadoes, according to Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). “The evacuation orders saved lives,” she said, noting that over 90,000 residents had sought refuge in shelters.
As Milton moved across Florida, it weakened from a Category 3 storm with winds of 120 mph (205 kph) to a Category 1 hurricane as it approached the state’s east coast. By Thursday morning, it was moving away from the Atlantic coastline.
Fort Myers resident Connor Ferin described the harrowing moment a tornado ripped through his home, causing windows to shatter. “It happened instantaneously,” he said, recounting how he grabbed his dogs and sheltered under a bed.
The hurricane made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island south of Tampa, and damaged or destroyed hundreds of homes across multiple counties. Florida airports, including those in Tampa and Palm Beach, remained closed on Thursday, with only emergency aircraft permitted.
(with inputs from Reuters)
