Author: Terry Spencer and Kate Payne
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton hit Florida as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday, bringing winds of more than 100 mph (160 kph), heavy rain and a storm around the state. Series of tornadoes. Tampa avoided a direct hit.
The Miami-based National Hurricane Center said the hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph) when it roared near Siesta Key at 8:30 p.m. Siesta Key is a thriving white-sand beach about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa, home to 5,500 people. The Tampa Bay area has not suffered a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century, but the storm still brought potentially deadly storm surges to much of Florida's Gulf Coast, including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Miami. Fort Worth.
The National Weather Service said flash flooding was occurring in the Tampa Bay area, including St. Petersburg, where more than 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain had fallen so far.
Heavy rains could also cause inland flooding along rivers and lakes as Milton moves across the Florida peninsula as a hurricane, eventually emerging in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.
More than 1.5 million Florida homes and businesses were without power Wednesday night, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports. The most outages were in Hardee County and neighboring Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management, said about 125 homes, many of them mobile homes in senior communities, were destroyed before the hurricane made landfall.
About 90 minutes after landfall Wednesday night, Milton, centered about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of Sarasota, had slightly weakened winds, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), the hurricane center reported. ), becoming a Category 2 storm. It is moving east-northeast at 16 mph (26 km/h).
The National Weather Service Hurricane Center in Miami said Hurricane Milton's sustained winds had slowed to about 110 miles per hour (175 kilometers per hour), downgrading the tropical storm to a Category 2 hurricane.
Milton hit an area of Florida still reeling from Hurricane Helene, and the storm surge wreaked havoc on beach communities, killing more than a dozen people in seaside Pinellas County alone.
Earlier, officials issued dire warnings for people to flee or face little chance of survival.
“That's it, guys,” said Kathy Perkins, emergency management director for Pinellas County, which sits on a peninsula in Tampa Bay. “For those who were hit hard during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a crushing loss. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.
By late afternoon, some officials said the time for such efforts had passed, suggesting those who remained should hunker down. By evening, some counties announced they were suspending emergency services.
Several tornadoes caused by the hurricane swept through Florida, and the tornadoes were a harbinger of the danger to come in Milton. Video posted on social media sites showed a giant funnel cloud forming over communities in Palm Beach County and elsewhere in the state.
Hurricane Milton is expected to sweep across the state, including the densely populated Orlando area, on Thursday.
Two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and killed at least 230 people in the South, the storm threatens still struggling communities. In many places along the coast, municipalities raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton's high winds and storm surge could sweep it up and cause more damage. Waves in Tampa Bay are expected to reach 9 feet (2.7 meters).
Jackie Curnick said she struggled with the decision to stay at home in Sarasota, just north of where the storm made landfall. But with a 2-year-old son and a baby girl due on Oct. 29, Curnick and her husband decided it was for the best.
Konik said they started packing to evacuate on Monday, but they couldn't find any available hotel rooms, and the few they found were too expensive.
If they got in their cars and left, she said, there would be too many unanswered questions: Where to sleep, whether they would be able to fill up their gas tanks and whether they could find a safe route out of the state.
“The problem is it's very difficult to evacuate on the peninsula,” she said. “In most other states, you can leave in any direction. In Florida, there are only so many roads that can take you north or south.
The famous Sunshine Skyway bridge across the mouth of Tampa Bay was closed around noon. Other major bridges were also closed.
At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis described the deployment of a variety of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and other states; more than 50,000 utility workers from as far away as California ;Highway patrol cars with sirens escorting tanker trucks to replenish supplies so people can fill up before evacuating.
“Unfortunately, people are going to die. I don't think there's any way to fix this,” DeSantis said.
Heavy rain and tornadoes hit parts of southern Florida starting Wednesday morning, with conditions worsening throughout the day. Inland, rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 31 cm) are expected, with up to 18 inches (46 cm) in some areas, creating the risk of catastrophic flooding.
A tornado struck the sparsely populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75 early Wednesday morning. broken into pieces.
Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders for 15 Florida counties with a total population of approximately 7.2 million. Officials warned that anyone left behind must take care of themselves, as first responders were not expected to risk their lives in attempted rescues at the height of the storm.
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch told residents to expect extended power outages and possible sewer system shutdowns.
In Port Charlotte, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa, Josh Parks was loading his Kia sedan with clothes and other items as the clouds swirled and the wind howled. Flooding in Helen two weeks ago brought about 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water to the neighborhood, and streets were still filled with submerged furniture, torn drywall and other debris.
Parks, an automotive technician, planned to flee to his daughter's home inland and said his roommates had already left.
“I told her to pack her bags like you're not coming back,” he said.
As of early afternoon, airlines had canceled about 1,900 flights. SeaWorld was closed all day Wednesday, and Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando were closed in the afternoon.
More than 60% of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg were out of gas Wednesday afternoon, according to GasBuddy. DeSantis said the state's overall supply situation is good and Highway Patrol troopers are escorting tanker trucks to replenish supplies.
In Gulfport in the Tampa Bay area, Christian Burke and his mother live in their three-story concrete house overlooking the bay. Burke said his father designed the house with Category 5 standards in mind and now they are putting it to the test.
When a passing police car made noises to encourage an evacuation, Burke admitted it was not a good idea to stay and said he was “not laughing at the storm at all.”
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Contributing to this report was Associated Press reporter Holly Ramer in New Hampshire. Joseph Frederick, West Bradenton, Fla.; Curt Anderson, Tampa; Freida Frisaro, Fort Lauderdale; Tallahassee Brendan Farrington; Michael Goldberg in Minneapolis; Patrick Whittle in Portland, Maine; Jeff Martin in Atlanta , Christopher L. Keller in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
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