More than 3 million people in Florida are without power Thursday morning after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key as a Category 3 storm with winds reaching 120 mph.
The hurricane caused widespread devastation along the state’s west coast before weakening to a Category 1 storm as it moved off Florida’s east coast.
Milton brought damaging winds, torrential rains, and a growing storm surge threat to Florida’s eastern regions.
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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor emphasized the ongoing risk from flooding, particularly in Hillsborough County, as rivers were expected to rise with the morning’s high tide.
“What we were really worried about was the storm surge,” Castor said Thursday. “Fortunately, we didn’t see the peak of it, but it’s not over. At 7:00 this morning when high tide comes in, rivers are going to flood.”
Certain areas have already received more than 10 inches of rain, with the potential for another 8 to 12 inches in many parts of the state.
In St. Petersburg, the roof of Tropicana Field—home to the Tampa Bay Rays—was torn off, and the city recorded 18 inches of rain in just 24 hours, according to Fox Weather.
Holy shit Tropicana field… the whole damn roof is gone. pic.twitter.com/Dnl46ALr20
— DaddyDimmuTV (@DaddyDimmuTv) October 10, 2024
Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw urged residents to stay indoors due to hazardous conditions, saying, “We have hundreds of calls of power lines down. We have trees down and we are out there actively making the city and the streets safe. So please stay indoors until we give you the all clear.”
The destruction has been widespread across Florida’s west coast, with storm surges as high as 10 feet reported in some areas and up to 5 feet of surge expected from Jacksonville to Cape Canaveral.
St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed that 17 tornadoes had touched down in his county, resulting in several fatalities and widespread damage. “A rescue mission is ongoing, and hundreds of homes have been destroyed,” Pearson said.
As of 5 a.m. ET Thursday, Hurricane Milton was located about 10 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral, with maximum sustained wind gusts of 85 mph.
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More than 3.3 million Floridians remain without power, leaving much of the Tampa Bay area in the dark, according to Poweroutage.us.
“We are receiving initial reports from our ‘first-in’ emergency crews of downed power lines and trees in roadways. We know some of the bridges in the county are not passable,” the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office reported. They urged residents and business owners to stay off the roads to allow emergency and utility crews to work.
Hurricane Milton struck Florida less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene, which devastated the state before moving up to North Carolina. In the days leading up to Milton’s landfall, Floridians boarded up homes and evacuated vulnerable areas in anticipation of the storm.
The National Hurricane Center warned that Milton had “the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida.” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis confirmed Wednesday that the state was preparing for a major impact, with nearly 10,000 National Guard members ready to assist with rescue efforts.
“We have 500 tactical vehicles, including 180 high-water vehicles, aerial water, and ground National Guard search and rescue teams.
This is the largest Florida National Guard search and rescue mobilization in the entire history of the state of Florida,” DeSantis said.
President Joe Biden declared Florida a disaster area ahead of Milton’s landfall to expedite FEMA’s response.
Meanwhile, officials in Orlando temporarily pulled police and firefighters off the roads due to wind speeds exceeding 40 mph, stating that emergency services would resume once conditions improved.
Public Safety Information Manager James Lucas warned that weather conditions would likely prevent rescue workers from reaching affected areas during the storm’s peak intensity. “Weather conditions will deteriorate so rapidly that rescue workers cannot get in,” Lucas told Fox News. “Law enforcement officers are not going to be able to respond to any emergencies as the storm pushes through at 100 mph.”
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