Hurricane Milton leaves at least 10 dead, millions without power

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the "worst-case scenario", although he warned damage was still significant and flooding remained a concern.

Tropicana Field stadium damaged by Hurricane Milton, in St. Petersburg, Florida, US on October 10. Photo: Reuters

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a White House briefing that 10 deaths had been reported so far, adding that it appeared to be due to tornadoes. He said at least 27 tornadoes had touched down in Florida.

In St. Lucie County on Florida's east coast, a series of tornadoes killed five people, including at least two at the Spanish Lakes senior living community, county spokesman Erick Gill said.

On Thursday, broken concrete utility poles and overturned trucks were evidence of the tornado’s power. Crystal Coleman, 37, and her 17-year-old daughter hid in the bathroom during the storm as the tornado began to rip the roof off her Lakewood Park home. “I felt like I was in a movie,” she said. “I felt like I was going to die.”

More than 3.2 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power as of Thursday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. At least some had been waiting days for power to be restored after Hurricane Helene hit the area two weeks ago.

Hurricane Milton ripped the roof off Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium in St. Petersburg, but there were no reports of injuries. The baseball field was a staging ground for emergency responders, with thousands of beds set up on the field.

A crane collapses during Hurricane Milton in St. Petersburg, Florida, U.S. on October 10, 2024. Photo: Reuters

In downtown St. Petersburg, dozens of people poured into the bright sunlight to watch a toppled crane slice off a corner of the Johnson Pope building on First Avenue South. The crushed crane stretched from one end of the street to the other.

“To me, it was terrifying and crazy,” said Alberta Momenthy, 27, who lives nearby. “It looked like it fell over, and the building took it and was a little bit destroyed.”

Steven Cole Smith, 71, an auto editor who lives in Tampa, about 7 miles from the Gulf Coast, stayed behind with his wife to weather the storm. “We really had nowhere else to go,” Smith said of their decision to defy evacuation orders.

Flooded streets after Hurricane Milton made landfall, in Siesta Key, Florida, U.S., October 10, 2024. Photo: Reuters

Florida remains in danger of river flooding after 18 inches (457 mm) of rain fell. Officials are waiting for the river to crest, but so far it remains at or below what it was after Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Thursday morning.

Most of the severe damage reported so far has been from tornadoes, said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency, who was in Tallahassee on Thursday. “Evacuation orders saved lives,” she said, noting that more than 90,000 residents had taken shelter.

In Fort Myers on the southwest coast, resident Connor Ferin looks over the wreckage of his home, which had its roof ripped off and was filled with debris and rainwater after a tornado hit.

The path of Hurricane Milton. Graphic photo: Reuters

President Joe Biden, who postponed his overseas trip to deal with Hurricane Milton, said Thursday that Congress should return to address the need for disaster relief funding in the wake of the storm. However, members of the House and Senate are not scheduled to return to Washington until after the Nov. 5 U.S. election.

Hurricane Milton made landfall on the west coast of Florida on Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm with maximum sustained winds of 125 mph. While still dangerous, it weakened from a catastrophic Category 5 as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.

Huy Hoang (according to Reuters, CNN)

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