Hurricane Milton batters Florida: Over 1.5 million without power, flooding causes destruction; WATCH videos

Hurricane Milton struck Florida on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, unleashing powerful winds exceeding 100 mph (160 kph), heavy rainfall, and spawning several tornadoes across the state. Fortunately, Tampa managed to escape a direct impact.

The cyclone made landfall at 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, with maximum sustained winds reaching 120 mph (205 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. Siesta Key, known for its picturesque white-sand beaches, is home to approximately 5,500 residents and is located about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa.

By Wednesday night, over 1.5 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power, as reported by poweroutage.us, which monitors utility reports. The most significant outages were recorded in Hardee County, along with neighboring Sarasota and Manatee counties.

Even before Milton made landfall, tornadoes were already touching down throughout the state. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, located on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, suffered significant damage, with homes destroyed and several residents losing their lives.

“We have lost some life,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News, though he wouldn’t say how many people were killed.

The Tampa Bay area has not experienced a direct hit from a major hurricane in over a century; however, the storm still posed a significant threat of deadly storm surges along much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, impacting densely populated regions such as Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Fort Myers.

The National Weather Service reported flash flooding in the Tampa Bay area, particularly in St. Petersburg, where more than 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain had fallen.

As Hurricane Milton moved across the Florida Peninsula, heavy rains were expected to cause flooding in inland areas along rivers and lakes before the storm eventually emerged in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.

Before making landfall, about 125 homes were destroyed, many of which were mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, according to Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

Approximately 90 minutes after making landfall, Hurricane Milton was located about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of Sarasota and had weakened slightly to a Category 2 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), according to the hurricane center. The storm was moving east-northeast at 16 mph (26 kph).

Milton struck a region of Florida still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which had caused extensive damage to beach communities due to storm surge and resulted in a dozen fatalities in seaside Pinellas County alone.

Prior to the storm, officials had issued urgent warnings urging residents to evacuate or face dire survival odds.

“This is it, folks,” stated Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which is located on the Tampa Bay peninsula. “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”

By late afternoon, some officials indicated it was too late for evacuation, advising those who remained to hunker down instead. By the evening, several counties announced that they had suspended emergency services.

Hurricane Milton was expected to maintain its status as it moved across Florida, impacting densely populated areas, including Orlando, through Thursday.

The storm posed a significant threat to communities still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which had flooded streets and homes in western Florida two weeks prior, resulting in at least 230 fatalities across the South. Along the coast, municipalities hurried to collect and dispose of debris before Milton's winds and storm surge could scatter it and worsen the damage. Surge levels were projected to reach up to 9 feet (2.7 meters) in Tampa Bay.

The renowned Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which spans the mouth of Tampa Bay, was closed around midday, along with several other major bridges.

During a news conference in Tallahassee, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the deployment of a comprehensive array of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and neighboring states, more than 50,000 utility workers from as far away as California, and highway patrol vehicles equipped with sirens to escort gasoline tankers. This effort aimed to replenish fuel supplies so that residents could fill their tanks before evacuating.

“Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don’t think there’s any way around that,” DeSantis said.

Heavy rain and tornadoes began battering parts of southern Florida on Wednesday morning, with conditions worsening throughout the day. Rainfall totals of 6 to 12 inches (15 to 31 centimeters) were expected, with some areas possibly receiving up to 18 inches (46 centimeters), leading to a heightened risk of catastrophic flooding.

One tornado touched down Wednesday morning in the sparsely populated Everglades, crossing Interstate 75. Another tornado was reported in Fort Myers, where it snapped tree limbs and shredded the canopy of a gas station.

Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for 15 Florida counties, impacting a total population of about 7.2 million people. Officials cautioned that those who chose to remain would have to fend for themselves, as first responders would not risk their lives to conduct rescues during the storm’s peak.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch warned residents to prepare for prolonged power outages and the potential shutdown of the sewer system.

In Charlotte Harbor, roughly 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa, clouds swirled and winds gusted as Josh Parks loaded his Kia sedan with clothes and personal belongings. Just two weeks earlier, Hurricane Helene had flooded the neighborhood with about 5 feet (1.5 meters) of water, leaving streets littered with waterlogged furniture, torn-out drywall, and other debris.

By early afternoon, airlines had canceled approximately 1,900 flights. SeaWorld remained closed all day, while Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando shut down in the afternoon.

According to GasBuddy, over 60% of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg were out of fuel by Wednesday afternoon. Governor DeSantis assured that the state’s overall fuel supply was adequate and that highway patrol officers were escorting tanker trucks to replenish supplies.