TAMPA: Hurricane Milton struck Florida with fierce winds and tornadoes, leaving at least four people dead and causing extensive damage across the state before moving into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.
The storm, which initially made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, triggered over a dozen tornadoes, destroying homes and displacing thousands.
Governor Ron DeSantis reported that the state avoided a catastrophic storm surge, although the damage was still substantial. “We have not seen that predicted storm surge. That saved a lot,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor stated during an early morning press conference.
Despite the favorable news regarding the surge, the four fatalities were confirmed in St. Lucie County, where multiple tornadoes touched down on Wednesday afternoon.
As of Thursday morning, over 3 million homes and businesses were without power, according to PowerOutage.us, exacerbating the already challenging conditions for many who had been without electricity since Hurricane Helene impacted the region nearly two weeks prior.
Milton’s destructive path led to significant property damage, including a gaping hole in the fabric roof of Tropicana Field, the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays. There were no reported injuries at the venue, which had been set up as a staging area for responders, complete with thousands of cots for those displaced by the storm.
In the aftermath of the hurricane, emergency crews responded to numerous incidents, including one where a tree fell on a house occupied by 15 people, all of whom were safely evacuated to a nearby shelter. The storm also toppled a large construction crane in St. Petersburg, which landed on a deserted street.
Despite the extensive damage, the storm’s impact was less severe than initially feared. Milton weakened to a Category 1 hurricane as it moved across the state, with top sustained winds dropping to 85 mph (145 kph). The hurricane’s eye made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island town south of Tampa Bay, before it transitioned to a tropical storm.
In Fort Myers, resident Connor Ferin recounted the harrowing experience of a tornado destroying his home. “All this happened instantaneously, like these windows blew out,” he said.
Authorities reported that tornadoes had caused damage in several counties, with around 125 homes, primarily mobile homes, being destroyed. In St. Lucie County, Sheriff Keith Pearson estimated that about 100 homes were lost in the wake of the storms.
DeSantis emphasized the state’s readiness to respond to such natural disasters. U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed to provide emergency assistance in the wake of the storm.
“Our state is a peninsula in the middle of a tropical environment. We are just built to be able to respond to hurricanes,” DeSantis remarked.
Air travel was also severely impacted, with over 2,200 flights canceled, primarily from Orlando, Tampa, and southwest Florida, as many airports remained closed for commercial operations.
