Hurricane Milton tore a coast-to-coast path of destruction across the state of Florida, whipping up a spate of deadly tornadoes that left at least four people dead and millions without power Thursday.
Milton made landfall Wednesday night on the Florida Gulf Coast as a major Category 3 storm.
Sustained hurricane-force winds smashed inland through communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, before roaring off Florida’s east coast into the Atlantic.
A vehicle is stranded on a water-flooded street after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Brandon, Florida on October 9, 2024. Milton made landfall in Florida October 9, 2024 as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 hurricane, packing life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) said. “Data indicate the eye of Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County along the west coast of Florida,” the NHC said in an 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Thursday) bulletin. (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)
Residents are rescued from an apartment complex in Clearwater that was flooded from and overflowing creek due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024, in Florida. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Residents are rescued from an their second story apartment complex in Clearwater that was flooded from and overflowing creek due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024, in Florida. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
First responders in the water outside an apartment complex that was flooded from and overflowing creek due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024, in Clearwater, Florida. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Residents are rescued from an their second story apartment complex in Clearwater that was flooded from and overflowing creek due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024, in Florida. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
“The wind was the scariest thing because the building sways and the windows rattle, even though they’re storm-proof windows,” said Sarasota resident Carrie Elizabeth, as she emerged to inspect the aftermath early Thursday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the storm triggered deadly tornadoes and left more than three million people were without power.
In a statement on its website, St. Lucie County on the east coast confirmed “four fatalities as a result of these tornadoes.”
Wind uprooted large trees and ripped apart the roof at the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field baseball stadium in St. Petersburg, and sent a construction crane falling onto a downtown building nearby.
A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field which has been torn open due to Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10, 2024. At least four people were confirmed killed as a result of two tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton on the east coast of the state of Florida, local authorities said Thursday. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
The roof of Tropicana Field is seen damaged the morning after Hurricane Milton hit the region on Oct. 10, 2024, in St. Petersburg, Florida. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
A drone image shows the dome of Tropicana Field which has been torn open due to Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, on October 10, 2024. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
In Clearwater on the west coast, emergency crews in rescue boats were out at first light, plucking stranded residents trapped in their homes by more than a meter of floodwater.
As the eye of the storm exited the peninsula, communities were still contending with strong winds, heavy rainfall, and the risk of flash floods.
Amid fear of tornadoes, St. Lucie County sheriff Keith Pearson posted a video on his department’s Facebook page warning residents to seek shelter. It showed a garage for police cars that had been destroyed.
“The difficulty with the tornadoes is that we don’t know where they’re going to land,” St. Lucie County commissioner Chris Dzadovsky told reporters.
A drone image shows a flooded street due to Hurricane Milton in Siesta Key, Florida, on October 10, 2024. (MIGUEL J. RODRIGUEZ CARRILLO/AFP via Getty Images)
A stairwell wall is blown out in St. Petersburg due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024, in Florida. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
A crane that collapsed into a building is seen in downtown St. Petersburg due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024, in Florida. (BRYAN R. SMITH/AFP via Getty Images)
Property damage after Hurricane Milton made landfall in St. Petersburg, Florida, on Oct. 10, 2024. (Tristan Wheelock/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
A traffic light pole is down in downtown Orlando, Florida, due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
A tree fell on the front of a property in downtown Kissimee, Florida, due to Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024. (GIORGIO VIERA/AFP via Getty Images)
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