The Latest: Milton causes widespread power outages and several deaths in Florida

(AP) - Hurricane Milton brought powerful winds, a dangerous storm surge and flooding to much of Florida after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.

It weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moved through Florida early Thursday. Power outages were widespread and deaths have been reported from severe weather.

The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph) when it roared ashore in Siesta Key, south of the populated Tampa Bay region, the National Hurricane Center said. High winds, heavy rain and flooding hit areas including densely populated Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.

Follow AP’s coverage of tropical weather at https://apnews.com/hub/hurricanes.

Here’s the latest:

Kamala Harris pledges federal help to Florida officials in the wake of Helene and Milton

CHANDLER, Ariz. — Vice President Kamala Harris is pledging to those who have been affected by Hurricane Milton that “we will be with you every step of the way as you recover and rebuild.”

Harris spoke at a rally in Chandler, Arizona, on Thursday night, saying the hurricane “has cut a path of devastation across Florida” right on the heels of Hurricane Helene.

Harris said that she had spoken with Republican and Democratic local officials to pledge ongoing federal help, adding, “That is who we are.”

Milton was not as destructive as expected, FEMA official says

SARASOTA, Fla. — FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Thursday that Milton’s impact was not as destructive as feared, but she is heading out Friday to see damage from some of the tornadoes that touched down in the Florida.

“We did not have the extreme impacts of the worst case scenario that we prepared for, but there’s still so many people that have been impacted by this,” she said at a press briefing in Sarasota.

She said the 38 twisters that touched down in the state cause “significant damage to a level that Floridians have not seen from tornadoes,” she said.

On Thursday, she toured flooded roads and debris, some of which was left from Hurricane Helene, she said.

I-75 south is crowded with people returning after fleeing Milton

OCALA, Fla. — A flood of vehicles headed south Thursday evening on Interstate 75, the main highway that runs through the middle of Florida, as relief workers and evacuated residents headed towards the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

At times, some cars even drove on the left-hand shoulder of the road, adding an extra travel lane to the highway. Cars, bucket trucks and fuel tankers streamed by, along with portable bathroom trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles from the Bay and Escambia County Sheriff’s Offices.

As residents raced south to find out whether their homes were destroyed or spared, finding gas was still a challenge, with fuel stations still closed as far away as Ocala, more than a two and a half hour drive north of where the storm made landfall.

Milton’s ‘reverse surge’ sucked water away from flood-fearing Tampa

In the hours before Hurricane Milton hit, forecasters were worried it could send as much as 15 feet (4.5 meters) of water rushing onto the heavily populated shores of Florida’s Tampa Bay.

Instead, several feet of water temporarily drained away.

Why? “Reverse storm surge” is a familiar, if sometimes unremarked-upon, function of how hurricane winds move seawater as the storms hit land — in fact, it has happened in Tampa Bay before.

▶ Read more about how reverse storm surge works.

NOAA releases longtime hurricane scientist’s ashes into Milton’s eye

As an award-winning scientist, Peter Dodge had made hundreds of flights into the eyes of hurricanes — almost 400.

On Tuesday, a crew on a reconnaissance flight into Hurricane Milton helped him make one more, dropping his ashes into the storm as a lasting tribute to the longtime National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration radar specialist and researcher.

“It’s very touching,” Dodge’s sister, Shelley Dodge, said in an interview Thursday with The Associated Press. “We knew it was a goal of NOAA to make it happen.”

The ashes were released into the eye of the hurricane Tuesday night, less than 24 hours before Milton made landfall in Siesta Key near Sarasota, Florida. An in-flight observations log, which charts information such as position and wind speed, ended with a reference to Dodge’s 387th — and final — flight.

▶ Read more about Peter Dodge and his final flight.

Animals at a zoo and an aquarium in Tampa are faring well after the storm

TAMPA, Fla. — A spokesperson for ZooTampa said Thursday all 1,000 animals at the zoo are safe and will remain in their night houses and hurricane shelter locations while habitats are cleared of debris. The Florida Aquarium in Tampa also confirmed their animals are “doing well.”

The zoo sustained some damage from the high winds and does not have power, and the spokesperson anticipates the debris cleanup and restoration, which is already underway, will take a few days.

The Florida Aquarium’s buildings in downtown Tampa and Apollo Beach also “appear to have minor weather-related damage,” the aquarium said in a Thursday press release.

As of Thursday afternoon, both the aquarium and the zoo aim to reopen Saturday, depending on when power is restored.

Coast Guard rescues a man clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico

TAMPA, Fla. — A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico after his boat was stranded overnight in waters roiled by Hurricane Milton.

The man was aboard a fishing vessel that became disabled Wednesday off Madeira Beach, Florida, hours before the hurricane made landfall, said Coast Guard press officer Nicole Groll. The man, who was not identified, was able to radio the Coast Guard station in nearby St. Petersburg before contact was lost about 6:45 p.m.

But on Thursday searchers located the man about 30 miles (48 kilometers) off Longboat Key, Florida, clinging to an open cooler chest, a video clip provided by the Coast Guard shows. In the video, a Coast Guard diver was lowered from a helicopter and swam to the man to pick him up.

The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical treatment, the Coast Guard said. The fate of his boat was unknown. A hospital spokesperson was not able to provide a condition without the man’s name.

All warnings related to Milton have been discontinued

MIAMI — The U.S. National Hurricane Center discontinued all storm surge and tropical storm warnings related to Milton, now a post-tropical cyclone, as of their latest and final advisory.

Milton was located about 220 miles (335 kilometers) northeast of Great Abaco Island, one of the Bahama’s northmost island, and was moving east away from Florida’s coastline at 21 mph (33 kph) as of 5 p.m. Thursday. It has sustained winds of 70 mph (110 kph) and was expected to continue weakening, the hurricane center said.

DeSantis speaks to the ‘resilience’ of Floridians during back-to-back hurricanes

SARASOTA, Fla. — “You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks — not easy to go through — but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Thursday afternoon briefing in Sarasota.

“When you’re a Floridian, you kind of just know that these are things that can happen, and you roll with it and you just kind of deal with it,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of grit, I’ve seen a lot of determination and I’m very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly.”

Resident rides out Milton in a home his father built to withstand a hurricane’s worst

GULFPORT, Fla. — Christian Burke’s late father built their three-story concrete home overlooking the bay to withstand a Category 5 storm. Last night, Burke, his mother and his aunt defied mandatory evacuation orders and rode out Hurricane Milton in that home to test it. The watched the storm crash ashore through the near-panoramic view out their third floor windows.

“Looking out, all we could see is just these sheets — it wasn’t raining — it was these sheets of rainwater flying by us in every direction,” he said. “Movies don’t do it justice.”

Burke had been bracing for 7 or 8 feet (2.1 to 2.4 meters) of storm surge in the first floor of his home, and had been warily eyeing a sailboat that Hurricane Helene had left stranded on the sidewalk across the street two weeks ago, hoping the waves wouldn’t dash it against his house.

But the surge never came, the boat didn’t budge, and his home has virtually no damage — a testament to his father’s legacy as a builder, Burke said.

“There was no other reason to be here than for that,” he said, “other than honoring his legacy and showing that he did what he did. He built what he built.”

That said, Burke said he doesn’t need to ride out another storm at home. He’s made his point.

“If this happened again, I know the house is great,” he said, “but maybe I’ll just find a hotel somewhere.”

Florida hospitals generally fared ‘extremely well’ during Milton

SARASOTA, Fla. — HCA Florida, which operates 48 hospitals throughout the state, had to evacuate about 235 patients at its hospital in Largo, near St. Petersburg, after the basement flooded.

David Verinder, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Hospital, estimates the hospital has supported and cared for 4,000 people during the hurricane’s course — including seven babies that were delivered as the storm swept through the region.

Both of the system’s campuses are on high ground and came out relatively unscathed despite heavy winds, rain and surges — the worst of which were in Sarasota, not Tampa as predicted.

Still, Tampa General Hospital, the region’s only Level 1 trauma center, deployed its “aqua fence” for the second time in two weeks to prevent flooding.

Cape Canaveral Hospital sustained damage from tornadoes on Florida’s east coast, said Mary Mayhew, president and CEO of the Florida Hospital Association, but officials are optimistic that the damage “is not significant.”

Florida hospitals generally fared “extremely well” during Hurricane Milton, Mayhew said. Twenty-one facilities in total evacuated prior to the storm.

Hundreds of people and dozens of pets rescued

At least 340 individuals and 49 pets have been rescued in ongoing search-and-rescue operations, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a Thursday afternoon briefing in Sarasota.

DeSantis said that after flying over some of the hard-hit areas on Thursday, he saw that many of the homes built in recent years fared well in the storm.

“Another thing I think I can say – our buildings that were built in the last 20 or 30 years, they did very well,” he said.

Tampa airport says it will reopen Friday despite some damage

Tampa International Airport plans to reopen Friday morning, although the hurricane damaged six jet bridges used to board planes and crews are repairing leaks in the main terminal.

The airport said the Federal Aviation Administration cleared the control tower to resume full operations, roads and parking garages are in good shape, and there are no issues with the wastewater system.

The airport’s fuel depot lost power and is running on generator power while repairs are underway.

Historic district of coastal Punta Gorda shaken by Milton

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — In Punta Gorda’s historic district, a 10-foot surge from the Peace River swept blocks inland, seriously damaging homes and depositing six 30-foot-plus boats along a quarter-mile stretch of a riverside street.

The surge was the third to hit the neighborhood the last three months, following a small surge by Hurricane Debby in August and an 8-foot surge by Helene two weeks ago.

Josh Baldwin’s 38-foot boat, Alexandra, named after his young daughter, was sitting upright on the street, resting on its hull and flattened propeller, leaning against a utility pole.

The cattle rancher had moored his boat at the marina about 100 yards (91 meters) away and the surge had picked it up and pushed it inland, pulling it off its moorings.

He said he was at home in Sarasota, 60 miles (97 kilometers) away on Thursday morning, when a friend sent him a screenshot of a TV reporter doing a live shot from in front of it.

A few hours later, he was inside removing all the gear that he could to avoid it being stolen and contemplating his options – pay $100,000 to fix the boat or scrap it. He was leaning toward scraping it.

He couldn’t get insurance because he had moored it in Punta Gorda.

“They don’t like to pay out and this place always gets ruined in hurricanes,” he said.

Biden takes swipe at Trump, says his predecessor is spreading ‘misinformation’

President Joe Biden is again criticizing his predecessor, Donald Trump, for spreading misinformation about the federal government’s hurricane response efforts, declaring “Get a life, man.”

Addressing reporters Thursday about Hurricane Milton’s destruction, Biden said he wouldn’t call Trump directly. But asked what his message would be for Trump, Biden squared his shoulders and more directly faced the camera.

“Mr. President Trump, former President Trump, get a life man,” Biden said. “Help these people.”

The White House, and Biden personally, have spent days decrying Trump for making false claims about disaster response, including that federal funding is being diverted for use on people in the country illegally and that such assistance is capped at $750.

With theme parks closed in Orlando, tourists flock to mini-golf

ORLANDO, Fla. — With Orlando’s theme parks closed Thursday because of Hurricane Milton, miniature golf was among the few activities available to tourists who had been locked down in their hotel rooms and rental condos during the storm.

There was a line getting into Congo River Golf on International Drive, a major tourist strip. Craig Greig of Glasgow, Scotland would have been at the Magic Kingdom with his wife and 10-year-old if the theme parks had been open.

Instead he was clutching a putter ready to putt golf balls over a man-made lagoon filled with baby alligators. “We just wanted to stretch our legs and get out of the hotel,” he said.

“Especially for the little one.” Even though it was his first experience with a hurricane, he was unfazed and slept through the night as it roared through central Florida.

Florida marks 6th time it has had 3 hurricanes make landfall in a single year

Milton’s landfall in Florida marked the sixth time in history that the Sunshine State had three hurricanes make landfall in a single year, according to Colorado State University senior research scientist Phil Klotzbach.

They were: 1871, 1886, 1964, 2004 , 2005 and 2024.

The state in 2004 nearly had four hurricanes make landfall in a single year, Klotzbach said. But while Charley, Frances and Jeanne made landfall in Florida, Ivan made landfall in Alabama, just west of the Alabama/Florida border.

Mayorkas calls for more FEMA funding, denounces false information spreading online

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at the White House briefing that the government has “the capability and the capacity to respond to and recover from multiple simultaneous disasters” in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Still, Mayorkas cautioned that Congress needs to allocate more funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency, saying “we will need additional funds.”

Additionally, Mayorkas condemned hate speech and false information spread online following landfall by Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton.

Mayorkas said that falsehoods are having a negative impact on survivors and hurting the morale of rescue workers.

Mayorkas said the government is “seeing horrific, hate speech of all types, propagated on online platforms,” pertaining to people trying to help address the damage from the storm.

Entertainment elite donate toward hurricane relief efforts

Hollywood power couple Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds have given $1 million in relief efforts for Hurricanes Milton and Helene.

Feeding America CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot announced the donation from the “Gossip Girl” star and her “Deadpool” husband in an Instagram post Thursday.

They’re the latest celebrities to make a seven-figure donation after megastar singer Taylor Swift gave $5 million earlier.

Five storm-related deaths confirmed in Florida

After confirming 5 storm-related deaths, Gov. Ron DeSantis said he does not have any reports of others at this point, though that may change, he said at a noon briefing Thursday.

“We don’t have confirmed reports of other fatalities throughout the rest of the state, but we may as the day goes on,” he said.

“My sense is we will be able to release a lot of the search and rescue resources that we’ve had on hand very soon,” DeSantis said, without providing a specific timeline.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said the deaths were caused by tornadoes that touched down near Fort Pierce.

Jessie Schaper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida, said it’s too early to know exactly how many tornadoes touched down Wednesday or how strong they were.

Officials plan to begin their survey on Friday, but it might take some time before results are released.

Residents rescued from assisted living facility in Tampa

More than 100 residents were rescued from an assisted living facility in Tampa, according to a social media post Thursday morning from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.

The sheriff’s office and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue were out with amphibious equipment and the marine unit rescuing residents, Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the video.

It shows deputies in nearly waist-deep water outside the facility and residents with walkers being carried away on boats. The video shows flooded streets and parking lots and rescue workers with a boat floating next to a partially submerged flight of stairs helping an apartment building resident in a life jacket wrap up her cat.

Chronister can be seen offering to take a person in a home surrounded by flood waters to dry ground.

“This is extraordinary to see this type of flooding, especially in this type of area. The University of South Florida area is normally a dry area,” Chronister said in the video. “To see this unprecedented flooding, I can only imagine how scary it was.”

Tiny barrier island off Fort Myers gets hit by tornado and the effects of hurricane

The tiny barrier island of Matlacha just off Fort Myers got hit by both a tornado and surge from Hurricane Milton, with many of the turquoise, salmon and lavender buildings sustaining serious damage.

Several collapsed or are knocked off their pilings. Utility poles are snapped and there was no power Thursday morning. The fishing and tourism village also got severely hit by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and Ian two years ago.

Ninety-year-old Tom Reynolds spent Thursday morning sweeping out the four feet of mud and water the surge deposited in his two-story home and collecting the large chunks of his home’s aluminum siding that had been ripped off by the tornado. Fortunately for Reynolds and others working outside Thursday, the temperatures were in the low 80s (mid-20s Celsius) and Milton had sucked away all the humidity.

The tornado, he said, had “picked up a car and thrown it across the road.” A house had been blown into another street, temporarily blocking it. Some structures caught fire.

Reynolds, who founded the glass and mirror company his son now runs, said he lost many of his power tools – he had stored them high in his shed, but the surge knocked it over.

He said plans to clean up his house, which he built three decade ago, get it fixed and stay.

“What else am I going to do?” Reynolds said.

Residents call on Altamonte Springs to do something to stop repeated flooding

ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — In the Spring Oaks neighborhood of Altamonte Springs north of Orlando, an impromptu lake formed from floodwaters on a residential street near Rupert and Ernine Gonzales’ split-level home.

They have lived in their house for 22 years, but never saw flooding until two years ago with Hurricane Ian.

Now, it’s becoming more regular. “The city must do something about this flooding, 100%,” Rupert Gonzales said.

“People here have gotten flooded, relocated, come back and gotten flooded again. It’s a way of life, it seems.” Soon or later, people won’t want to buy homes in his neighborhood, Gonzales said. “I’m very concerned because I have to live here and I have to see this flooding every time.”

Bradenton Beach chief relieved to see his town for the first time after Milton

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — It was a “sigh of relief” when Police Chief John Cosby came across the bridge from the mainland to Anna Maria Island at 4:30 a.m. Thursday and didn’t see his community underwater.

“Very close to 100%” of residents evacuated this town ahead of Hurricane Milton, he said, after Hurricane Helene battered this barrier island community just two weeks ago, covering the streets with piles of sand like snowbanks from a blizzard.

“So far, knock on wood, we’ve had no injuries and no deaths in our community,” from Hurricane Milton, he said.

While wind from Milton battered already damaged homes and knocked at least one multi-story home off its pilings, the projected storm surge didn’t hit here, he said.

Piles of debris from Hurricane Helene still line the streets here. Mattresses, refrigerators, stacks of plates — some scattered but others sitting in their heaps — created a mess, but not the barrage of hurricane-driven missiles so many residents had feared.

IV fluids manufacturer says Florida sites remain intact

A manufacturer of IV fluids critical to hospitals nationwide said Thursday that its Florida factory and distribution center were left intact after Hurricane Milton tore through the state.

B. Braun Medical Inc. said it would provide more details later Thursday about the Daytona Beach factory. The company had said earlier this week that it planned to restart production Friday morning.

The factory is seen as an important source of sterile intravenous, or IV, fluid supplies that had grown tight after Hurricane Helene hit Florida and several other states late last month.

That storm forced Baxter International to shut down a North Carolina factory that makes about 60% of the country’s IV fluid supply.

MacDill Air Force base in Tampa stays closed

WASHINGTON — According to the U.S. Air Force, MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa was evacuated as of Wednesday, and remains closed.

The base, which is home to U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, has about 185 personnel working at an emergency operations center out of Raymond James Stadium.

There were 13 KC-135 aircraft evacuated to McConnell Air Force Base, and other aircraft remained in hangars or away on military missions. A hurricane recovery team is enroute to the base to begin assessing damages and Air Forces Northern is working to provide civil air patrol flyovers to get an aerial view of the base.

Aircraft were also moved out of Patrick Space Force Base but there was no personnel evacuation ordered. Space Launch Delta 45 has a team doing damage assessments. Seven F-16 fighter jets from the 482nd Fighter Wing were moved from Homestead Air Reserve Base to San Antonio, Texas.

The U.S. Navy said there was “negligible damage” at the Mayport, Jacksonville and Kings Bay naval bases and they are expected to return to normal operations on Thursday.

Biden pledges federal support for storm-battered Sarasota

SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert said in a statement that she spoke with President Joe Biden on Wednesday.

Alpert said the call was unexpected and that Biden promised her federal support in the recovery from the storm.

“He understands ... it will take a lot from the federal government to help us recover in Sarasota,” Alpert said. “We’re grateful for the support and thank President Biden for reaching out.”

The city said in a statement that crews are working to clear roadways and assess the damage caused by the storm.

Workers start clearing Bradenton Beach of storm debris

BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — City workers were feeling grateful not to be wading through deep floodwaters as they picked up storm debris Thursday morning in this beach town on Anna Maria Island.

Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene battered homes and businesses and blew in piles of sand four to six feet high along Bradenton Beach’s streets.

Residents had feared that the loss of the sand along the beach here may have left it more vulnerable to further erosion from Hurricane Milton, in this community where wooden beach bungalows still stand among newer two- and three-story houses.

Jeremi Roberts of the State Emergency Response Team said the piles of sand may have helped shield homes here from further damage from Milton.

Sarasota assesses damage while asking residents to stay put and conserve water

SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche said in a video statement on social media that the damage from Hurricane Milton doesn’t appear as bad as initially feared and the search and rescue operations are underway.

“My ask is please don’t rush home right now, we’re still trying to assess what’s going on,” Troche said. “We still have downed power lines, we still have trees in the roadway.”

The city of Sarasota said in a statement that residents are urged to continue to shelter in place as the storm surge is expected through Thursday afternoon and to conserve water because of numerous broken water lines in the city.

Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi said damage assessments began Thursday morning; roads are being cleared and residents should remain in place.

“We do have power outages across about 75% of the county, but we are doing the best we can to assess,” Tapfumaneyi said.

Biden gets briefing on Hurricane Milton; Harris to join in later

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been briefed on the initial impacts of Hurricane Milton.

Biden was briefed early Thursday by Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.

The White House said Biden will hold another briefing on the federal response to the storm, and the role the Pentagon and the Coast Guard are playing in disaster response.

Vice President Kamala Harris will join that briefing by videoconference from Las Vegas, where she is holding campaign events.

Damage assessments are underway in Fort Myers Beach

FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — In Fort Myers Beach, a town of about 6,000 on Estero Island about 110 miles (177 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, Mayor Dan Allers told Fox News that damage assessments are underway.

“Our immediate concern is getting the road open so we can get water restored, get power back on and so we can get our residents back,” Allers said.

Allers said the damage appears worse than Hurricane Helene, but not as bad as Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Separately, emergency responders have resumed responding to calls in southwestern Florida’s Charlotte County, southeast of Tampa. That is according to post on X by Charlotte County Emergency Management.

Florida’s governor says his state was spared ‘the worst case scenario’

Hurricane Milton was a significant storm but not “the worst case scenario,” Florida’s governor says.

Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Thursday that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters) — less than in the worst place during Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago.

“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” he said. “The storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario.”

Water levels in many Florida rivers are forecast to continue rising, he said. Because of the amount of water flooding happen not just now but in the subsequent days, he said.

Significant damage from Milton is reported in west-central Florida

PLANT CITY, Fla. — There was significant damage in west-central Florida, including in the community of Plant City, an official said.

“One of the most profound things I’m seeing is the flooding. We have flooding in places and to levels that I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community for my entire life,” City Manager Bill McDaniel said in a video posted online Thursday morning. “It’s absolutely staggering, what we’re seeing out there. Last night, members of our police and fire department performed rescues of 35 individuals from flooded structures here.”

Plant City has about 40,000 people. McDaniel added, “The police and the fire departments have their hands full. we’re bringing out crews to clean up the tree debris and get our roadways clear.”

Rescue teams are out in full force in the South Daytona area

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Hurricane Milton brought flooding to Florida’s Atlantic Coast early Thursday.

In Volusia County, where Daytona Beach is located, high water rescue teams were out in full force in the South Daytona area, sheriff’s officials said.

Many roads in Fort Myers area are under water or blocked by fallen trees

FORT MYERS, Fla. — In Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, the local sheriff’s office noted that many roads were either under water or blocked by fallen trees, downed power lines or other debris.

Some areas in Lee County had 3 feet (0.9 meters) of water covering roads.

A draw bridge just east of Matlacha, where about 600 people live on a barrier island, is partially blocked by a house, sheriff’s officials said. The Matlacha area was also devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

At least 3 million customers without power due to Milton

Hurricane Milton’s tear of destruction across central Florida left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power around 4 a.m. EDT Thursday, according to PowerOutages.us.

Energy companies serve more than 11.5 million customer accounts across the state, according to the website.

Milton’s high winds and intense rains continued into Thursday morning. Florida’s central Gulf Coast was hardest hit by the outages, including Hardee, Sarasota, Hillsborough and Manatee counties.

Hurricane Milton weakens to Category 1, but danger remains in Florida

MIAMI — The National Weather Service says the storm’s maximum sustained wind speed was 90 mph (145 kph) at about 1 a.m. Thursday as it passed east of Lakeland, Florida, on its way across the central peninsula.

The weather service uses the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to estimate potential property damage caused by a hurricane’s sustained wind speed. A Category 1 hurricane is considered to have very dangerous winds that topple shallow-rooted trees, snap tree limbs and damage the exterior of well-constructed frame homes. They can also cause extensive damage to power lines.

Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall Wednesday evening. That rating means devastating damage is expected to occur, including roofs torn from well-constructed homes, trees uprooted, and electricity and water systems unavailable for days to weeks.

High wind speeds are not the only dangers caused by hurricanes. Hurricane Milton spawned several devastating tornadoes that wreaked havoc on Florida communities Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rainfall and storm surges also caused dangerous flooding in some coastal areas.

Milton weakens slightly as flash flood emergency statement is issued in west-central Florida

MIAMI — The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 100 mph (160 kph) as it hovered near Fort Meade, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Tampa, early Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said.

The hurricane was expected to continue traveling mostly eastward until it enters the Atlantic Ocean sometime late Thursday, the weather service said.

The damaging winds were accompanied by heavy rainfall, and the weather service issued a flash flood emergency statement for portions of west-central Florida. Flash flood emergency statements generally mean life-threatening catastrophic water rising events are already underway or expected to occur in the immediate future.

St. Petersburg officials warned residents that a broken water main forced the city to temporarily shut off its drinking water service at midnight. The city said residents should boil any water used for drinking, cooking or brushing teeth until the system is restored.

Multiple collapsed cranes reported in St. Petersburg

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The National Weather Service says it has received reports of multiple collapsed cranes due to high winds in St. Petersburg, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall.

St. Petersburg Fire Rescue confirmed one collapse late Wednesday about six blocks from the city’s pier. There were no reports of injuries.

The crane was at the site of a 515-foot-tall (157-meter-tall) luxury high-rise building under construction that is being billed as one of the tallest buildings on the west coast of Florida. It was scheduled to be completed in summer 2025.

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