Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, where it knocked out power to more than 3 million customers and whipped up 150 tornadoes. The storm caused numerous deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.
The system tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa.
“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. "We’ve got more to do, but we will absolutely get through this.”
Here's a look at the latest on damage across the region:
Hurricane Milton Damage
Deaths from Hurricane Milton
At least nine deaths have been reported so far related to Hurricane Milton, officials said.
What we know so far:
- Pinellas County, Florida:
- 2 fatalities were reported in St. Petersburg, according to the chief of police, who said one was a medical issue while another was found in a park.
- St. Lucie County, Florida:
- Four fatalities were confirmed from tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Milton, the St. Lucie Medical Examiner's office confirmed.
- Volusia County, Florida
- Three fatalities were confirmed so far, according to the county sheriff, who said one death was caused by a falling tree, while the cause of death for two others remained unclear.
Which areas saw the worst impact?
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The deadly storm surge feared for Tampa never materialized, though the storm dumped up to 18 inches of rain in some parts of the area, the governor said. The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet — lower than in the worst place during Helene.
As dawn broke Thursday, officials repeated that the danger had not passed: Storm-surge warnings were posted for much of the east-central Florida coast and north into Georgia. Tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast into South Carolina. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.
“We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out,” Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, said on Facebook.
Just inland from Tampa, the flooding in Plant City was “absolutely staggering,” according to City Manager Bill McDaniel. Emergency crews rescued 35 people overnight, said McDaniel, who estimated the city received 13.5 inches (34 cm) of rain.
“We have flooding in places and to levels that I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community for my entire life,” he said in a video posted online Thursday morning.
Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche said in a video statement on social media that the damage from Hurricane Milton doesn’t appear as bad as initially feared and the search and rescue operations are underway.
“My ask is please don’t rush home right now, we’re still trying to assess what’s going on,” Troche said. “We still have downed power lines, we still have trees in the roadway.”
The city of Sarasota said in a statement that residents are urged to continue to shelter in place as the storm surge is expected through Thursday afternoon and to conserve water because of numerous broken water lines in the city.
Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi said damage assessments began Thursday morning; roads are being cleared and residents should remain in place.
“We do have power outages across about 75% of the county, but we are doing the best we can to assess,” Tapfumaneyi said.
According to NBC's Al Roker, St. Petersburg saw 18.5 inches inches of rain over the past 24 hours.
"A 1 in 1,000 year rainfall event," Roker said.
While storm surge levels were slowly coming down early Thursday morning along the west coast of Florida, they were continuing along the south, NBC's Al Roker said Thursday morning.
The weather service said Boca Grande, Florida, could see a surge as high as 13 feet above ground if it hits at the same time as high tide
The service also said tornadoes were possible through early Thursday morning over parts of central and eastern Florida.
Power outages, rescues and more
The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3.4 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field — home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg — was ripped to shreds by fierce winds. It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside. Before the storm hit, first responders were moved from a staging area there.
Multiple cranes were also toppled in the storm.
This is the construction crane that collapsed and fell into the Tampa Bay Times building. The damage to the building is catastrophic collapsing multiply floors. The water lines broke flooding the building. #flwx #HurricaneMilton #SaintPetersburg pic.twitter.com/4gyh8HQtsF
— Jeff Piotrowski (@Jeff_Piotrowski) October 10, 2024
St. Petersburg residents could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service. Mayor Ken Welch had told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system.
State officials said they completed more than 40 rescues overnight and crews would be going door to door in some areas Thursday. In Tampa, police said they rescued 15 people from a single-story home damaged by a fallen tree.
“We are laser-focused on search-and-rescue operations today,” said Col. Mark Thieme, executive director of the Florida State Guard.
In Fort Myers Beach, a town of about 6,000 on Estero Island about 110 miles southwest of Tampa, Mayor Dan Allers told Fox News that damage assessments are underway.
“Our immediate concern is getting the road open so we can get water restored, get power back on and so we can get our residents back,” Allers said.
Allers said the damage appears worse than Hurricane Helene, but not as bad as Hurricane Ian in 2022.
More angles of the destroyed fabric roof of Tropicana Field.
— Matt Dursh (@MattDursh) October 10, 2024
This is currently serving as a shelter and staging area for first responders during Hurricane Milton, which adds to the devastation. pic.twitter.com/5KIGc1BHCu
Tornadoes
Hours before the storm made landfall, as many as 27 tornadoes touched down in the region, shutting down Florida's Interstate 75 and prompting search and rescue efforts from officials.
Among the scores of tornadoes, one twister touched down in the lightly populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado hit in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a gas station’s canopy to shreds.
The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and at least four people killed in tornadoes, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said.
Before the hurricane arrived, about 125 homes were destroyed, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
The tiny barrier island of Matlacha just off Fort Myers got hit by both a tornado and surge from Hurricane Milton, with many of the turquoise, salmon and lavender buildings sustaining serious damage.
Several collapsed or are knocked off their pilings. Utility poles are snapped and there was no power Thursday morning. The fishing and tourism village also got severely hit by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and Ian two years ago.
What category was Milton when it made landfall?
Milton made landfall Wednesday night along Florida’s Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.
The storm had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph when it roared ashore at 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, the Miami-based National Hurricane Center said. While Tampa avoided a direct hit, it was included in a deadly storm surge that also hit densely populated areas of St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
About 90 minutes after making landfall Wednesday night, Milton was centered about 20 miles northeast of Sarasota and had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 110 miles-per-hour.
Milton then weakened to a Category 1 storm overnight.
Despite the downgrade, it was no less dangerous, as the National Weather Service issued a rare flash flood emergency statement for the Tampa Bay area.
How to help people affected by Hurricane Milton
Here is some advice from experts about how to help:
— Send cash: The needs of people and organizations are evolving and won't be fully known for days or weeks. Cash offers responders flexibility and can immediately be deployed to help. Only send-in kind assistance like food, clothing or other equipment upon the request of organizations who are already working in impacted communities. Managing these kinds of gifts can divert the resources of receiving organizations, despite the best intentions.
— Give to charities already working in impacted communities: Local branches of the United Way will be directly serving people in the immediate aftermath of the storms. The Red Cross is also providing immediate shelter for tens of thousands of Floridians. They also urged people in areas proximate to the hurricane's trajectory to donate blood if they are able. Grassroots and worker organizations, like those that serve immigrants, have already been providing critical information, translation and support to groups that may struggle to access state or government services.
— Consider waiting or signing up for recurring donations: It can often take months to truly scope the needs and challenges after disasters, especially as warming oceans caused by climate change are making hurricanes more intense. Communities face a long journey to recovery. Signing up to give even small donations regularly to local organizations helps those nonprofits plan, which can allow them to act more efficiently and effectively. Community foundations often have deep networks and excellent relationships with local nonprofits and may set up fundraisers to help with long term recovery needs. For example, the Community Foundation of Tampa Bay has collected a list of critical needs from local organizations, which you can donate to directly.
— Mutual aid can be powerful: Giving directly on crowdfunding sites or through cash transfer apps can make a profound difference in people's lives. GoFundMe takes steps to verify the identities of the people who start campaigns. Consider providing both direct gifts to individuals and donations to organizations that help to respond to community-wide needs.
