Hurricane Milton live updates: Death toll rises after monster storm strikes Florida with tornadoes, flooding, wind
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 11 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.
Four 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.
More than 3m homes and businesses in Florida left without power
More than 3m electricity customers are currently without power, according to Poweroutages.us.
Approximately 3.01m customers have been left under blackout conditions with west-central Florida experiencing the worst outages.
More than 97 percent of customers in Hardy County are experiencing power failures.
Those on the west-central coast are the worst impacted – with Hillsborough County, Pinellas County, Sarasota County Pasco County and Manatee County accounting for more than half of all power failures in the state.
In photos: Collapsed cranes and stadium roof ripped clean off – Hurricane Milton’s damage revealed
‘Flash flood emergency’ declared for portions of west-central Florida
Map: Hurricane Milton moving across Florida
Milton is continuing its east-northeastward march across Central Florida, bringing heavy rain and wind gusts.
The storm will be in the Atlantic by sunrise Thursday morning.
It is currently located in the Orlando metro area after weakening to a Category 1 hurricane.
Milton made landfall on Wednesday evening south of Tampa Bay in Siesta Key, Florida as a Category 3 hurricane.
Orlando pulls police and firefighters off roads
Police personnel and firefighters have been pulled from the roads in Orlando to shelter in place as winds have reached over 40 mph.
"When the wind speed decreases they will be able to respond to calls for service. Residents should continue to shelter in place," the city wrote on X.
Multiple collapsed cranes in St Petersburg
NWS says it has received reports of multiple collapsed cranes in St Petersburg, about 50 miles (80 kilometres) south of Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall.
St Petersburg Fire Rescue confirmed one collapse late Wednesday about six blocks from the city's pier. There were no reports of injuries.
The crane was at the site of a 515-foot-tall (157-metre-tall) luxury high-rise building under construction that is being billed as one of the tallest buildings on the west coast of Florida. It was scheduled to be completed in the summer of 2025.
Watch live: Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as Tampa hit by flash floods and ‘catastrophic’ winds
Watch: Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as Tampa hit by flash flooding
Watch live as Hurricane Milton sweeps across Florida on Thursday (10 October) as Tampa is hit by flash floods and “catastrophic” winds.
St Petersburg shuts off drinking water
St Petersburg officials warned residents that a broken water main forced the city to temporarily shut off its drinking water service at midnight.
The city said residents should boil any water used for drinking, cooking or brushing teeth until the system is restored.
Tornado outbreak results in 'multiple fatalities' in St Lucie
A tornado outbreak in Florida’s St Lucie County and the East Coast resulted in multiple fatalities earlier on Wednesday, the local sheriff’s office said.
"We have lost some life," St Lucie county sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News. He did not say how many were killed.
Before Milton even made landfall Wednesday evening on Florida's Gulf Coast, tornadoes were touching down across the state. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida's Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, destroying homes and leaving some residents dead.
Hurricane-strength rains and wind are expected to continue thrashing Florida through Thursday, before the storm moves off into the Atlantic.
Taylor Swift donates $5m to help Hurricane Milton relief efforts
Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot announced singer Taylor Swift's donation for people impacted by Hurricanes Helene and Milton in an Instagram post on Wednesday, thanking her for "standing with us in the movement to end hunger and for helping communities in need."
"We're incredibly grateful to Taylor Swift for her generous $5 million donation to Hurricanes Helene and Milton relief efforts," Ms Babineaux-Fontenot wrote.
"This contribution will help communities rebuild and recover, providing essential food, clean water, and supplies to people affected by these devastating storms."
Read more:
Taylor Swift donates $5m to Hurricane Milton relief efforts
Nonprofit Feeding America thanked the 34-year-old pop star for her generous donation
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