Millions of Floridians from coast to coast are assessing the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton overnight. The Category 3 storm then moved across the state, leaving the East Coast near Cape Canaveral before dawn Thursday.
At least 2.6 million homes and businesses were without power, St. Petersburg residents were without water, and the Tampa area suffered significant damage, where a flash flood warning remained in effect Thursday.
St. Petersburg residents also can no longer get water from their taps in their homes because a water main break has shut down the city's water supply. More than 16 inches of rain fell in St. Petersburg.
Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg, appeared to be severely damaged. The fabric on the roof of the domed stadium was torn to shreds by high winds. It was unclear whether there was any damage inside. Several cranes also collapsed during the storm, the weather service said.
As of 5 a.m. Thursday, Milton was still bringing damaging winds and heavy rain to east-central Florida. It was located 15 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral with winds of 85 mph and moving northeast at 18 mph.
Siesta Key, where Milton landed, is home to about 5,500 people. This popular tourist destination has been considered one of the best beaches in the United States for many years, known for its exceptionally white sand. The MTV reality show “Siesta Key” was filmed there.
Hurricane Milton spawned tornadoes across the state as it made landfall. Multiple deaths reported at a St. Lucie County housing development; St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPEC-CBS12 his deputies and state emergency responders will be going door-to-door to Spanish Lake Country Club Village conducts search and rescue operations. In total, more than 100 people are searching for people who may be trapped.
“This is something we've never seen before,” Pearson said, adding that six to 12 tornadoes ripped through the area in 20 minutes.
Milton's path was aimed at the south side of Tampa Bay Wednesday night. As of late Wednesday night, a gust of 102 mph was recorded at Sarasota-Bradenton International Airport, a gust of 105 mph was recorded in Egmont Sound and a gust was recorded in central Tampa Bay, the National Hurricane Center said. 98 mph.
A crane collapsed in downtown St. Petersburg Wednesday night amid the high winds of Hurricane Milton, leaving a gaping hole in an office building that housed several businesses, including the Tampa Bay Times.
Florida has mobilized helicopters, boats and high-wheel vehicles to the hardest-hit areas and has distributed emergency water supplies and military rations to counties likely to be hardest hit.
Heavy rain, strong winds and a series of tornadoes hit Florida from the storm's front, the National Hurricane Center said Wednesday. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said 19 tornadoes were confirmed in the state and 116 tornado warnings were issued. He did not provide specific numbers but said “many counties” reported damage, specifically citing losses in Palm Beach County and Port St. Lucie.
“Regardless of the winds directly from the storm, we're probably seeing more tornado warnings than I've ever seen… No one can remember ever seeing that many,” DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday. Tornado warning. The National Weather Service in Miami issued 55 warnings only in its area.
Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management, said about 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane made landfall, many of them mobile homes in senior communities.
The storm grew dramatically in size Wednesday afternoon. As of 11 p.m. Wednesday, Milton's tropical winds extended to 255 miles from the center. Tropical wind speeds are 39-73 mph.
Catastrophic storm surges of 8 to 13 feet are expected from south of Anna Maria Island in Manatee County to Bonita Beach in Lee County. Storm surges of 6 to 9 feet are possible in northern areas, including Tampa Bay.
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DeSantis said at a news conference Wednesday night that the landfall in Milton was earlier than expected, ahead of high tide.
“It's good for the rising tide because the high tide hasn't come yet. I think it's going to help with the surge, but it means that almost all rescues are going to be done in the dark, in the middle of the night,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis said Florida has called in about 50,000 electrical maintenance workers from across the United States and deployed 500 additional law enforcement officers to prepare for what is sure to be a long, difficult and dangerous aftermath.
Search and rescue teams are ready to deploy. The state has assembled dozens of aircraft, including helicopters and airplanes, as well as hundreds of high-wheel vehicles. Emergency food and water packs are ready.
Hurricane Milton creates 'tornado supercell' in South Florida, impacts begin to spread across region
Florida's 11 counties have a combined population of about 5.9 million, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates, and authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders ahead of landfall.
On Monday, Milton intensified at an alarming rate, with pressure dropping below 900 millibars, making it one of the five most powerful Atlantic hurricanes ever recorded.
Early Tuesday evening, a hurricane hunter reported another sudden drop in pressure in Milton's eye, indicating another explosive intensification of the hurricane. The only other low-pressure hurricane recorded in the Atlantic later this year was 2005's Hurricane Wilma, Colorado State University meteorologist Philip Klotzbach said in a post on X .
Hurricane Milton: Open, closed, canceled and postponed events in South Florida | Updates
On Anna Marie Island on the southern edge of Tampa Bay, Evan Purcell was gathering his father's ashes and trying to hold on to his 9-year-old cat, McKenzie, as he prepared to leave Tuesday. When his home flooded, Helen caused him thousands of dollars in damage. He worried that Milton might be responsible for the rest.
“I'm still shocked from the first round, and the second round came again,” Purcell said. “I feel very uncomfortable about this.”
Milton laid out the worst-case scenario that hurricane experts have feared for years.
A 2015 report from Boston-based disaster modeling firm Karen Clark and Co. concluded that Tampa Bay is the most vulnerable region in the United States to hurricane storm surge flooding, with an estimated $175 billion in damage.
The city is particularly vulnerable due to the underwater topography of the Gulf of Mexico. The gentle slope of the bay allows storms to push water great distances and deep inland.
This report used information from The Associated Press.
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