Hurricane Milton live updates: Florida surveys ‘tragic’ damage in wake of monster storm, dozens of tornadoes
Multiple fatalities have already been reported as Hurricane Milton continues to wreak havoc as it moves off Florida’s east coast
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At least 14 people have died after Hurricane Milton devastated portions of Florida, leaving residents waking up to survey the damage.
Milton made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday night near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key, bringing multiple tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and devastating storm surge.
Six people in St Lucie County retirement village have been killed by tornadoes brought on by the hurricane after a dozen twisters spawned in the region within 20 minutes.
Ferocious winds caused a crane to collapse into the The Tampa Bay Times in St Petersburg, while the roof of Tropicana Field baseball stadium has been left in disrepair.
More than 3.3m homes and businesses in Florida have been left powerless, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted.
Evacuation alerts were blasted out to millions, with Bradenton Police Chief Melanie issuing a bleak prognosis for those who neglected advice. “What we’ll probably be finding in the morning are bodies,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Thursday morning.
After landfall, Milton has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane and is moving off Florida’s east coast – with residents still battling against brutal winds and storm surge.
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Classrooms begin to reopen after Milton caused mass school closures
K-12 schools across 19 of Florida’s 67 counties are set to reopen on Friday after canceling classes as Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified and raced towards the state earlier this week.
While all tropical and storm surge warnings for Milton were discontinued on Thursday evening, schools across 34 counties have elected to keep their doors closed, according to the Florida Department of Education.
The FLDOE says on its website that it will continue to work with schools “after natural disasters to ensure they have the resources necessary to resume normal operations as quickly as possible”.
2.5m of Florida’s homes and businesses still without power
More than 2.5m homes and businesses in Florida have been left powerless, with those in the state’s center and the west-central region the worst impacted.
Hillsborough County sees almost 500,000 electricity customers in blackout conditions, while almost 89 percent of customers in Highlands County have been left without power.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in a Thursday press briefing that tens of thousands of linemen are working to restore power across the Sunshine State.
“With the full support of the state, and the pre-staging of over 50,000 linemen, utility companies and telecommunications providers are working hard to restore power and connectivity to these communities as quickly as possible,” he said.
Milton was not as destructive as expected, FEMA Administrator says
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Thursday that Milton’s impact was not as destructive as feared. Criswell will tour some of the damage from tornadoes on Friday.
“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.
25 people rescued from St. Lucie County mobile home park, sheriff says
St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told CNN Thursday that 25 people have been rescued from a mobile home park.
He said crews are continuing to look for others, but that conditions make it difficult.
Tampa sees more than five times the normal amount of rain
Hurricane Milton brought 12 inches of rainfall to Tampa.
According to WFLA, that amount is more than five times the normal amount of rain for the month of October.
Estimated restoration times will be issued for Duke Energy customers by Friday
Post-Hurricane Milton assessments have begun at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center
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