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 nine 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.
Category 1 hurricane-force winds hold steady as Milton tracks east to Cape Canaveral
What we know so far in the wake of Hurricane Milton making landfall
Hurricane Milton made landfall last night earlier than expected as a devastating Category 3 hurricane, slamming into Siesta Key, Florida at approximately 8.30pm ET.
“Multiple” deaths have been confirmed in St Lucie County on Florida’s Atlantic coast, County Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed.
“Dozens” of Tornadoes were spawned, county spokesperson Erick Gill said. “Several fatalities” have been confirmed after a tornado struck Spanish Lakes Country Club, Pearson said.
A large crane was downed in St Petersburg and the roof of Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, was ripped clean off during Milton’s ferocious winds.
More than three-million homes and businesses in Florida are currently without power, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted.
Twenty-eight for waves battered shorelines, along with heavy downpours and up to 12ft of storm surge in the worst hit areas.
Wind speeds have continued to slow, with Mitlon being downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane – with the extent of damage and casualties to become more clear later today.
“What we’ll probably be finding in the morning are bodies...it’s bleak in some of these areas,” Chief of the Bradenton Police Department Melanie Bevan told BBC Radio 4’s The Today Programme.
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.
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