Hurricane Milton: Cleanup underway in Florida, several dead

Officials in St Lucie County clarified early on Thursday that four people had died in tornadoes that formed as Hurricane Milton approached overnight. 

They had already warned of the tornadoes and deaths overnight but precise details were still not clear. 

County spokesman Erick Gill said at least two of the deaths occurred in a set of neighborhoods for seniors or pensioners, the Spanish Lakes Community. He said it wasn't clear if the other two were at the same site. 

Multiple twisters hit the area as the hurricane approached overnight. Hurricanes can cause tornadoes to form, typically in rain bands away from the eye of the storm.

Florida Governor Ron De Santis said early on Thursday that the state had been spared "the worst-case scenario" as Hurricane Milton crossed overnight. 

"We had over 80,000 people that went into shelters overnight as the storm hit the state," De Santis said. 

He said that while the storm was significant, preliminary indications did not suggest damage on the extent feared before it made landfall. 

"We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses," De Santis said.

"What we can say is: the storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario. The storm did weaken before landfall, and the storm surge as initially reported has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene."  

He said the most serious storm surge reported, likely in the region of 8-10 feet (roughly 2.45 meters to 3.05 meters) in Sarasota County on the western coast to the Gulf of Mexico, compared to figures roughly double that in the worst-hit places during Hurricane Helene.

Water levels in Florida were forecast to continue rising, he said, with flooding a potential risk not just now but in the coming days as a result. De Santis said flooding occurred on both the west and east coasts of the state overnight.

Milton moved east-northeast across the state and its eye was over the Atlantic Ocean rather than land by Thursday morning. It is currently projected to continue moving out to sea. But high wind speeds and heavy rains persisted in places in its wake. 

A weakened but still powerful Hurricane Milton has completed its path across Florida, entering the Atlantic Ocean as a Category 1 storm.

US emergency services have warned that the remnants of Milton would continue to bring heavy rains, flash floods, and highly destructive winds to the southern US state throughout the day.

"This rainfall will continue to bring the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding," the National Hurricane Center said.

Rescue crews and government officials said that the full toll of the storm's destruction could not be estimated until day breaks in the eastern United States.

Hurricane Milton has knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3 million homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday, according to utility report tracking website poweroutage.us.

More than 97% of homes in Hardee County were reported as not having electricity, with Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties also particularly hard-hit.

Early on Thursday, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Milton had become a Category 1 hurricane.

The downgrade came several hours after the storm made landfall as a Category 3.

Hurricanes typically lose steam after hitting land.

On Sunday and Monday, scientists were left stunned when the storm rapidly developed from a Category 1 to 5 within a matter of hours.

Despite the downgrade, winds were still extremely strong at 90 mph (150 kph) as the storm made its way towards Cape Canaveral on Florida's east coast.

Hurricane Milton damaged homes and property as it crossed Florida in the early hours of Thursday. 

The home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team lost its roof late on Wednesday.

According to the Tampa Bay Times, the multipurpose stadium was being used as a staging area for National Guardsmen and electrical workers.

An NBA preseason game scheduled to take place in the arena later this week has been canceled, and the Tampa Bay Lightning hockey team's home opener was likely to be moved to another location.

"There's always things bigger than the game of basketball," said Orlando Magic coach Jamahl Mosley, whose team had been due to play against the New Orleans Pelicans at Tropicana on Friday. 

According to the US National Hurricane Center, Milton had weakened to a Category 2 hurricane after making landfall.

It was still packing maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph).

The National Weather Service warned it would continue to bring "devastating rains and damaging winds" across the central Florida peninsula throughout Thursday.

After passing Florida, the storm is expected to weaken over the western Atlantic, possibly dropping below hurricane strength on Thursday night. Nonetheless, it will still pose a storm-surge danger on the state's Atlantic coast.

Hurricane Milton has reportedly claimed its first victims in St. Lucie County on the east coast of Florida, officials have told media including local West Palm Beach outlet WPTV, the BBC and CNN.

Local Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed "multiple fatalities" at a seniors' country club near Fort Pierce, saying police officers were using bulldozers and other equipment "to recover anyone we can, provide any help that we can."

"It's devastating, no words can describe it," he said.

Exact details remain unclear, but Pearson said the county had been hit by "multiple tornadoes" that sprung up before the hurricane's arrival. The Sheriff's office itself was reportedly also damaged.

"With a tornado, you don't know [where it will strike]," he said. "It's like having a bomb dropped at any place and any time."

He warned residents that it's now too late to evacuate, saying: "If you're home, stay at home. Don't make us come out here for you."

St. Lucie County is on Florida's eastern Atlantic coast, about 140 miles east of Sarasota, where Hurricane Milton made landfall.

US President Joe Biden held a telephone call with Florida officials on Wednesday in the hours before Hurricane Milton made landfall in Sarasota.

According to a White House readout, he "emphasized that he will be with them and their communities before, during, and after the storm – no matter how long it takes."

Local officials on the call included Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert, and US Representatives Gus Bilirakis and Kathy Castor.

President Biden "told each of these leaders to call him directly if they need additional assistance on rescue, response, and recovery efforts," said the White House.

"Throughout the afternoon, the President has been receiving regular briefings on Hurricane Milton's latest trajectory and expected impacts to the State of Florida.

"He will continue to receive updates from his team throughout the night as the storm moves across the peninsula."

Authorities in Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater have issued severe flash-flood warnings for nearly two million people.

"Flash flooding is ongoing or expected to begin shortly," the Tampa National Weather Service (NWS) cautioned, reporting "between 6 and 12 inches (15-30 centimeters)" of rain in the last hours.

It warned of "life-threatening flash flooding of creeks and streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses."

An unprecedented number of power cuts have already left over 1.1 million homes and businesses in Florida without electricity after Hurricane Milton made landfall.

The most significant outages are in Sarasota County, where Milton made landfall around 8:30 p.m. local time.

The number of power cuts is set to rise as the storm moves inland and across the state.

Taylor Swift has donated millions of dollars to charity and several top US country musicians have announced a benefit concert – all aimed at supporting people across the southern United States affected by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and who are now set to be hit by Hurricane Milton.

Pop superstar Swift gave $5 million (€4.57m) to the nonprofit group Feeding America to assist in the storms' aftermath, according to a social media post from the group.

"Thank you, Taylor, for standing with us in the movement to end hunger and helping communities in need," said CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot in a statement.

Elsewhere, country stars Keith Urban, Luke Combs and Eric Church top the bill for a "Concert for Carolina" scheduled for October 26 for the benefit of the regions worst hit by Helene.

Among other efforts, country singer Morgan Wallen donated $500,000 to the American Red Cross for hurricane relief and was spotted helping to collect supplies in Knoxville, Tennessee on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, country legend Dolly Parton donated $1 million of her personal funds to a Tennessee nonprofit. "These are my people and this is my home," Parton told a crowd in Newport, Tennessee. "I am with you because I am part of you."

Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) has said.

It was located about 115 miles (185 km) southwest of Orlando Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph).

"Data indicate the eye of Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key in Sarasota County along the west coast of Florida," the NHC said.

The category 3 storm has been expected to maintain hurricane strength as it has crossed the Florida peninsula. It has posed storm-surge danger on the state’s Atlantic coast as well.

The storm has been able to bring a surge of seawater as high as nine to 13 feet (2.7 to 4 meters) in some areas and has dumped six to 12 inches (150 to 300 mm) of rain, with as much as 18 inches (450 mm) possible in spots.

"This storm is here," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has warned residents in his latest briefing.

He has said it is no longer safe for people to evacuate from Florida.

"At this point, it is too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to hunker down."