Hurricane Milton smashed into Florida as a Category 3 storm, wreaking havoc on a coast still devastated by Helene, hammering cities with winds of over 100 mph (160 kph) after unleashing an outbreak of tornadoes, but sparing Tampa from a direct impact.
The storm moved south in its waning hours and made landfall Wednesday night on Siesta Key near Sarasota, approximately 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa.
The situation in Tampa remained a serious emergency, with St. Petersburg receiving more than 16 inches (41 cm) of rain, causing the National Weather Service to issue a flash flood warning for that city as well as other parts of western and central Florida.
Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball franchise in St. Petersburg, appeared to be severely damaged. The powerful winds ripped apart the cloth that serves as the roof of the domed stadium.
It was unclear whether there was damage inside. According to the weather service, the storm also toppled several cranes.
Residents in St. Petersburg were also unable to access water from their residential taps due to a water main break that forced the city to shut down service.
The storm knocked out electricity across a huge portion of Florida, leaving more than 3 million homes and businesses without power as of early Thursday, according to poweroutage.us, a utility report tracking website.
Tornadoes were hitting the state before Milton arrived. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, was hit especially severely, with homes demolished and some residents killed.
“We have lost some life,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News, but he did not reveal how many people died.
According to Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, approximately 125 homes were destroyed prior to the arrival of the hurricane, many of which were mobile homes in senior citizen communities.
Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 hurricane around 90 minutes after impact. By early Thursday, the hurricane had moved offshore and was roughly 35 miles (55 kilometers) east of Orlando.
Heavy downpours were also expected to produce flooding inland along rivers and lakes as Milton moved through the Florida Peninsula as a hurricane, eventually emerging in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday. It is predicted to influence Orlando, which is heavily populated.
The hurricane hit an area still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which flooded streets and homes in western Florida and killed at least 230 people across the South two weeks ago. Many localities along the shore rushed to collect and dispose of debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge threw it about and exacerbated the damage.
Officials had issued stern warnings to escape or face slim chances of life.