Florida (TDI): Hurricane Milton made a devastating landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday, unleashing deadly tornadoes, flash floods, and widespread power outages as it moved eastward across the state.
The storm, classified as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 195 kilometers per hour, struck near Siesta Key around 8:30 PM EDT, according to the United States National Hurricane Center.
By 11 PM EDT, winds had diminished to 165 kph, prompting a downgrade to Category 2, yet it remained highly dangerous.
The eye of the storm was reported to be 120 kilometers southwest of Orlando in central Florida.
A flash flood emergency was issued for the Tampa Bay area, which includes Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater. St. Petersburg alone recorded 422 millimeters of rain on Wednesday.
Governor Ron DeSantis expressed hope that the region could evade the worst of the predicted storm surge, though forecasters warned seawater levels could rise as high as four meters.
Milton has already spawned at least 19 tornadoes, with multiple fatalities reported at a retirement community in Fort Pierce, following a suspected tornado in the area.
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The tornadoes inflicted damage across various counties, destroying approximately 125 homes, predominantly mobile residences, according to DeSantis.
As the storm progressed, over 1.3 million homes and businesses in Florida faced power outages.
Governor DeSantis advised residents that it was now too dangerous to evacuate and urged them to shelter in place.
The hurricane is expected to traverse the Florida peninsula overnight and emerge into the Atlantic, still maintaining hurricane-force winds.
It is projected to weaken over the western Atlantic but will continue to pose storm-surge risks along Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Tropical storm-force winds affected much of the state, generating waves nearly 8.5 meters high at sea, as reported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Rescue Operations
In the wake of Hurricane Helene just two weeks prior, as many as two million residents were ordered to evacuate, with millions more in the storm’s projected path.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has deployed millions of liters of water, meals, and supplies to the region, ensuring that recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene remain unaffected.
Approximately 9,000 National Guard personnel and 50,000 electricity grid workers have been mobilized in anticipation of the extensive power outages.
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Search-and-rescue teams are prepared to operate through the night once the storm passes, with 19 hospitals evacuated and mandatory evacuations issued for mobile homes, nursing homes, and assisted-living facilities.
Milton has marked its place in history as the third-fastest intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic, escalating from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours.
