Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as Category 3 storm, battering coast with 120-mph winds: 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 storm brought destructive tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge across multiple areas
More than 1.2 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 3 hurricane on Wednesday afternoon, 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.
Florida power outages now exceed 157K as storm picks up
More than 157,000 customers are without power in the Sunshine State, up from over 60,000 earlier in the afternoon, according to tracker PowerOutage.US.
Tampa officials tell residents to ‘hunker down'
“Unless you really have a good reason to leave at this point, we suggest you just hunker down,” Polk County Emergency Management Director Paul Womble said in an update.
Flooding has made roads in the county impassable.
With reporting from The Associated Press
Sarasota police can’t rescue Floridians when winds exceed 45 mph
Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche told CNN 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.
AOC says people responsible for ‘hurricane machine’ are fossil fuel companies, politicians
National Weather Service in Tampa warns of debris becoming ‘flying missiles’
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