Hurricane Milton makes landfall on Florida coast, with ‘multiple deaths’ and flooding reported: Live updates
Multiple fatalities have already been reported as Hurricane Milton wrecks havoc along the Florida coastline
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Florida residents in the path of Hurricane Milton were instructed to hunker down as the massive storm hit the state.
The hurricane made landfall early Wednesday night near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key.
The then-Category 3 storm has brought destructive tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge across multiple areas
More than 1.6 million customers were without power across the Sunshine State, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US.
While Milton’s intensity continues to fluctuate, weakening to a Category 2 hurricane, the National Hurricane Center predicts it will be “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida”.
Federal and state officials have urged those in Milton’s path to evacuate to avoid “catastrophic” winds, up to 18in rainfall and up to 15ft of storm surge, before the major hurricane slams into Florida’s west-central coast.
Vice President Kamala Harris warned that even the toughest Floridians won’t weather the “historic” hurricane, she said on The Late Show on Tuesday night.
Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche told CNN on Wednesday that officers will stay on the streets until Milton’s winds top 45mph.
“If people need help, we’re not going to be able to come to them,” he said.
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.
Sen. Rick Scott worried about Florida residents who didn’t evacuate: ‘We can’t take care of them now'
Florida Sen. Rick Scott told CNN Wednesday that he is worried about residents who chose not to evacuate.
“People that didn’t evacuate that should’ve. We can’t take care of them now,” Scott told CNN.
“You have no choice. You have to stay in place now, and you have to hunker down, and you have to keep yourself alive. I worry about our first responders that want to go out and help these people and they have to put their lives on the line,” he said.
‘’Lieutenant Dan’ appears to be OK after Milton’s landfall
More than 125 tornado warnings issued in Florida: a state record
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