Hurricane Milton Batters Florida With Tornadoes, Floods, Storm Surges; Power Outages In Over One Million Homes
Florida: Fueled by warm Gulf of Mexico waters, Hurricane Milton made a devastating landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday. It unleashed a destructive storm surge and caused widespread flooding. Over 1 million households in the region plunged into darkness without power.
Hurricane Milton has now intensified to a Category 5 hurricane with winds howling at 180 mph. One of the largest scale, massive evacuations are happening now in Florida. God bless the beautiful people of Florida, our lineman, crews and and the heroes to restore and protect others pic.twitter.com/JJONMg7t6X
— Art Network USA (@ArtNetworkUSA) October 9, 2024
According to reports, the storm briefly reached Category 5 status before striking near Sarasota. This is the second major hurricane to hit the region in barely two weeks. Heavy rain, tornadoes, and strong winds reportedly caused severe damage across the state.
Earlier, the weathermen had predicted storm surges up to 13 feet, with relentless rainfall. After making the landfall— according to the NY Times— Milton weakened to a Category 2 hurricane. Its wind speed decreased to 110 miles per hour.
❗️🌀🇺🇲 – A security camera captured the moment an apparent tornado passed through a home in Fort Myers, Florida.
Category 4 Hurricane Milton is approaching the west coast of Florida and is expected to hit the Tampa Bay region on Wednesday night.
More than 300 miles of… pic.twitter.com/TwnTv6OtPH
— 🔥🗞The Informant (@theinformant_x) October 9, 2024
Many killed in Milton aftermath
A tornado struck Fort Pierce, Florida on Wednesday as the aftermath of Milton. It caused multiple deaths at a retirement community. Reports claimed that many people lost their lives when the storm tore through the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village. The exact number of casualties is still unknown.
It’s astonishing that #Hurricane #Milton tore the roof off Tropicana Field.
Fortunately, the stadium was not filled with people at the time, but unfortunately, this means one major shelter is now out of commission.
Also, Lieutenant Dan is still alive and riding out the storm. pic.twitter.com/virTnE7S2w
— Thomas MORE (@ThomaMore) October 10, 2024
Flash flood emergency announced
The National Weather Service issued a flash flood emergency for the Tampa Bay area, including St. Petersburg and Clearwater. The warning is for heavy rainfall and catastrophic flash flooding.
Power outages
At least 125 houses were knocked down in the area, reports stated. Hurricane Milton caused widespread power outages in Florida. Over 1 million homes and businesses were affected. Over 70,000 homes and businesses were plunged into darkness. Over 3 million people in the Tampa Bay area were told to leave their homes before the arrival of Hurricane Milton, reports claimed.