Hurricane Milton Slams Into Florida, Unleashing Deadly Tornadoes and Widespread Destruction

Hurricane Milton is wreaking havoc across central Florida after making landfall at Sarasota on Wednesday evening, even spawning tornadoes which have caused multiple fatalities. St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed to West Palm Beach’s WPTV that multiple people were killed inside the Spanish Lakes Country Club, a senior living community.FORT MYERS BEACH, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 09: People look out at surge waters flooding the street from their building after Hurricane Milton came ashore in the Sarasota area on October 09, 2024, at Fort Myers, Florida. People are waiting to assess the damage after the Cat 3 hurricane came ashore. Joe Raedle/Getty Images“We have dozens of homes in St. Lucie County that have been damaged, some catastrophic damage,” St. Lucie County spokesman Erick Gill said.On Wednesday afternoon, Governor DeSantis said there had been 116 tornado warnings issued and confirmed that 19 twisters had touched down in the state.TAMPA, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 09: A television reporter stands on a downtown street as Hurricane Milton makes landfall on October 09, 2024, at Tampa, Florida.Spencer Platt/Getty ImagesMilton touched down in Sarasota as a Category 3 storm around 8:30 p.m. local time – well in advance of estimates that the storm would make landfall around midnight. The storm was downgraded to Category 2 just 90 minutes after hitting land, with its winds slowing down to 110 MPH, according to The New York Times, The storm is expected to cause far more damage into Thursday morning.According to CNN, the storm has already caused damage to nearby Tampa, the largest city near the post of landfall. Tampa experienced 100 MPH wind gusts and heavy rains that have already caused flash flooding. SARASOTA, FLORIDA – OCTOBER 9: Wind and rain batter the area as Hurricane Milton approaches on October 9, 2024 at Sarasota, Florida. Sean Rayford/Getty Images“The next few hours are going to be rough here in Tampa,” Mayor Jane Castor told CNN, adding that she hopes for conditions to calm down by 2 a.m. and allow first responders to begin emergency efforts.As the storm approached, water was seen rushing out of Tampa Bay in what is known as a reverse storm surge; along the coast south of Tampa, there was a surge of water levels as high as 8 feet. State officials have warned that the water could continue to rise into the early morning.Ron Rook, who said he was looking for people in need of help or debris to clear, walks through windy and rainy conditions on a deserted street in downtown Tampa, Fla., during the approach of Hurricane Milton, Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. AP Photo/Rebecca BlackwellAbout one million residents in the state lost power within the first 15 minutes after Milton made landfall, according to USA Today.

Hurricane Milton Slams Into Florida, Unleashing Deadly Tornadoes and Widespread Destruction

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