Hurricane Milton batters Florida leaving multiple dead as police chief warns ‘we’ll be finding bodies’: Live
Multiple fatalities have already been reported as Hurricane Milton continues to wreak havoc as it moves off Florida’s east coast
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Hurricane Milton has devastated portions of Florida causing “multiple deaths” and officials predicting that more bodies will be found upon sunrise.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday night near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key, bringing multiple tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and devastating storm surge.
Evacuation alerts were blasted out to millions, with Bradenton Police Chief Melanie issuing a bleak prognosis for those who neglected advice.
“What we’ll probably be finding in the morning are bodies,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Thursday.
“Multiple deaths” have already been confirmed after dozens of tornadoes spawned in St Lucie County, seeing a tornado strike Spanish Lakes Country Club retirement village in Fort Pierce, county Sheriff Keith Pearson said.
More than 3.2m homes and businesses in Florida have been left powerless, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted. A large crane was downed in St Petersburg and the roof of Tropicana Field baseball stadium was ripped clean off during Milton’s ferocious winds.
After landfall, Milton has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and is moving off Florida’s east coast – with residents still battling against brutal winds and storm surge.
Roof blown off Tropicana Field stadium
Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, appears to be badly damaged.
Photos show that the fabric that serves as the domed building's roof had been ripped to shreds. It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside the stadium.
The Rays' stadium was not being used as a shelter, but the Tampa Bay Times reported that it was being used as "a staging site for workers" who were brought to the area to deal with the storm's aftermath.
The stadium opened in 1990 and initially cost $138 million. It was due to be replaced in time for the 2026 season with a $1.3 billion ballpark.
Record-breaking number of tornado warnings in Florida
Florida has broken its record for the most tornado warnings issued in a single day.
The National Weather Service generated 111 warnings as of 9.30pm UK time.
The highest number of tornado warnings previously issued in the state was 69, a record set on 10 September 2017, ahead of Hurricane Irma.
Tree crashes into Fox News reporter’s car during Hurricane Milton
Tree crashes into reporter’s car as Hurricane Milton tears through west Florida
Fox Weather’s Robert Ray and his crew were given a bit of a shock after a Bradenton pine tree fell into their car
Biden calls Hurricane Milton 'storm of the century' in warning to Florida
Ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall, Joe Biden urged Floridians to heed local officials and brace for “the storm of the century”.
“To the people of Florida and all affected states, we’ve got your back,” Mr Biden said. “We’ve got your back, and Kamala and I will be there for as long as it takes to rescue, recover and rebuild.”
He also used his address late on Wednesday to criticise Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for his "onslaught of lies" relating to Milton and the earlier Hurricane Helene.
“The last few weeks, there’s been a reckless, irresponsible, relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies that are disturbing people,” Mr Biden said from the White House, “It’s ridiculous, and it’s got to stop.”
Hurricane Milton leaves 2 million people out of power
More than 2 million homes and businesses are without power in Florida tonight, according to poweroutage.us, as Hurricane Milton slammed into the gulf coast pouding the state with ferocious winds and devastating rainfall.
The entire gulf coast region near Tampa where the storm made landfall seems to be hardest hit by power cuts, according to the tracker.
The highest number of outages were in Hardee County, as well as neighbouring Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Hurricane Milton weakens some more
Milton is moving toward the east-northeast near 16mph.
The storm’s maximum sustained winds are near 105mph, with higher gusts.
Milton is forecast to maintain hurricane intensity while crossing Florida overnight. But, after moving into the Atlantic, the hurricane is expected to gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken.
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