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Tulal Ahmedzadeh, Lucy Swann, Anna Betts and the Guardian’s visual staff have created a visual guide to the damage caused by Hurricane Milton. You can explore graphics, videos and analysis here.
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Updated to EDT 04.05
Death toll expected to rise as Florida begins assessing Hurricane Milton damageRichard Luscombe
Five people were killed at a St. Lucie County senior living community hit by a tornado in the outer band of Milton, authorities said. The tornado formed Wednesday evening before the hurricane made landfall near Sarasota on Florida’s west coast.
Volusia County Sheriff Michael Chitwood said three people were killed in the county, and police in St. Petersburg confirmed two storm-related deaths in the county.
Parts of Sarasota, Fort Myers, Venice and other Bayside cities were inundated with up to 10 feet (3 meters) of storm surge, tornadoes destroyed buildings including a Sheriff’s Office facility, the sky turned purple, and wind speeds of up to 120 mph (120 mph) Strong winds of up to 193 km/m (193 km/m) were blowing. h) Turning cars, trees, and debris into projectiles.
“Our hearts break for the people of Florida who have lost so much,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in an afternoon briefing from the White House.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference that rescue efforts were continuing Thursday afternoon. DeSantis said authorities have already rescued at least 340 people and 49 pets, including a 14-year-old boy found floating over a fence in the floodwaters. That’s what it means.
The boat broke down before Milton Island made landfall, and a U.S. Coast Guard crew rescued a man clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico, about 50 kilometers from the coast.
#resting Ann @USCG A helicopter crew from Air Base Miami 65 rescued the man clinging to a cooler about 30 miles. Remove the long boat key.
The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital for treatment.
Sector St. Pete lost contact with the men in about 20 minutes. Wednesday 6:45pm #SAR pic.twitter.com/64wSHuRAeH
— USCGSoutheast (@USCGSoutheast) October 10, 2024
In Tampa, 135 people were rescued from nursing homes. City police also released footage of officers rescuing several children from a house that was partially destroyed by a fallen tree.
Read the full report by Miami’s Richard Luscombe and Edward Helmore here.
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Hurricane Milton prevented Simon Foster, his wife and two children from returning to Scotland as planned on Wednesday evening, the Associated Press reported. Forster and her family spent Thursday an additional two days of their two-week vacation on the bustling International Drive in Orlando’s tourist district.
Hurricanes appear to be chasing them ever since Hurricane Ian in 2022 prevented them from returning to Scotland after their holiday in Orlando. “Two more days here and it could be a much worse place,” he told The Associated Press.
Natasha Shannon and her husband Terry felt lucky to be alive. Hurricane Milton ripped off the tin roof of my neighbor’s cinderblock home, about a 45-minute drive south of Tampa and a few blocks north of the Manatee River.
Water began to recede Thursday in Tampa, Florida, from roads that were flooded by Hurricane Milton. Photo: Brian R. Smith/AFP/Getty Images
On Wednesday night, as the storm rolled in, she urged him to leave after he resisted evacuating the three-bedroom home where he grew up. The couple lived there with their three children and two grandchildren. She believes the decision saved their lives, the Associated Press reported.
When they returned, they found the roof of the house strewn with sheets across the street, and the wooden beams that had been the ceiling exposed to the sky. Inside, fiberglass insulation was sagging, belongings were soaked in the rain, and chunks of shattered drywall were scattered about.
“It wasn’t much, but it was ours. The little we had was gone,” she said. “It’s gone.”
With shelter no longer available and hotel rooms unaffordable, they plan to flock to Terry Shannon’s mother’s home for now. I don’t know after that.
“I don’t have an answer,” Natasha Shannon told The Associated Press. “What is my next move? What am I going to do?
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Updated to EDT03.46
Millions without power in Florida, residents weigh Milton costs
Florida residents continue to repair damage from Hurricane Milton, after it pummeled coastal communities, tearing apart homes, flooding roads and setting off a barrage of deadly tornadoes. Thinking about what to do next.
There are conflicting reports on the death toll from Hurricane Milton, with US media reporting between 11 and 16 people, with the death toll expected to rise further. CBS News reported Thursday night that the Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed to the magazine that eight counties have reported 16 deaths to authorities from the storm.
The system, which arrived just two weeks after devastating Hurricane Helen, left power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, ripped off the roof of the Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium and destroyed construction cranes. I fell over.
Many expressed relief that Hurricane Milton’s damage was not as bad, the Associated Press reported. The hurricane missed the heavily populated area of Tampa, and the deadly storm surge that scientists had feared never materialized.
A flood of vehicles headed southbound on Interstate 75, a major highway running through the center of the state, occurred Thursday night as relief workers and evacuated residents headed into the aftermath, The Associated Press reported. At times, some cars were driving on the left shoulder of the road. Bucket trucks and fuel tankers streamed in, along with portable toilet trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles, the Associated Press reported.
Residents rushed back to see if their homes had been destroyed or if they had survived the damage, but finding gasoline remained difficult. Gas stations remained closed Wednesday night as far north as Ocala, more than a 2-1/2-hour drive north of where the storm made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key in Sarasota County.
Orlando International Airport, the state’s busiest, announced it would resume domestic and international departures Friday and domestic arrivals Thursday night. The airport suffered minor damage, including some leaks and fallen trees.
Florida theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld, were scheduled to reopen Friday after assessing the effects of the storm.
