Hurricane Milton live updates: Florida surveys ‘tragic’ damage in wake of monster storm, dozens of tornadoes
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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At least 14 people have died after Hurricane Milton devastated portions of Florida, leaving residents waking up to survey the damage.
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.
Six people in St Lucie County retirement village have been killed by tornadoes brought on by the hurricane after a dozen twisters spawned in the region within 20 minutes.
Ferocious winds caused a crane to collapse into the The Tampa Bay Times in St Petersburg, while the roof of Tropicana Field baseball stadium has been left in disrepair.
More than 3.3m homes and businesses in Florida have been left powerless, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted.
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 morning.
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.
Estimated restoration times will be issued for Duke Energy customers by Friday
Post-Hurricane Milton assessments have begun at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
Hillsborough County rescues more than 500 people
Hillsborough County Fire Rescue said Thursday that they had made more than 500 rescues.
More than 100 pets were also saved, according to FOX 13 Tampa.
DeSantis says Florida is ‘resilient’ in aftermath of Hurricane Milton
University of South Florida will remain closed until Saturday
“All classes are canceled on Friday, Oct. 11, and Saturday, Oct. 12. There will be no in-person, online or asynchronous instruction on Friday or Saturday,” the school said in a Thursday update.
Florida power outages: Number of customers without power falls below 3M
The number of Florida customers without power fell below 3 million on Thursday night, tracker PowerOutage.US showed.
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