No fewer than three million households were plunged into darkness as five people lost their lives on Thursday after Hurricane Milton wreaked havoc on several coastal communities in Florida, USA.
Officials from St. Lucie County confirmed that the five deaths occurred due to tornadoes that swept through the region. The fatalities were reported in the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village in northern Fort Pierce and Lakewood Park.
Hurricane Milton unleashed a series of tornadoes and severe flooding on barrier islands, tearing off the roof of a baseball stadium and toppling a construction crane in downtown St. Petersburg. The crane collapsed late Wednesday, causing significant damage to an office building that houses several businesses, including the Tampa Bay Times. The crane fell from the 46-story skyscraper Residences at 400 Central, which was under construction, as the storm battered the region.
Florida residents spent Thursday morning assessing the extensive damage. The storm knocked out power to over three million homes and businesses, leaving large swaths of the state without electricity. However, many expressed relief that Hurricane Milton did not cause more devastation, sparing Tampa from a direct hit and avoiding the lethal storm surge scientists had feared.
According to reports from the National Hurricane Center, Hurricane Milton was located approximately 135 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph. The storm made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa, before moving to the south in its final hours.
Despite widespread damage, it was not considered the worst-case scenario. In Palmetto, south of Tampa, Natasha Shannon and her family narrowly escaped the storm’s fury after their tin-roofed home was torn apart. They sought shelter overnight with their children and grandchildren. When they returned, they found their home in ruins, with shredded insulation and soaked belongings scattered across the area. “I said, ‘Baby, we got to go because we’re not going to survive this. It wasn’t much, but it was ours,’” Shannon said.
In a video statement on Thursday, former President Donald Trump expressed his sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Milton. “Melanie and I are praying for you as you face the aftermath of Hurricane Milton,” Trump said. “We are deeply saddened by the devastation being reported. Our hearts go out to every one of you. Together, we will rebuild, recover, and come back bigger and better than ever before.”
The storm’s aftermath left Florida struggling to recover as rescue and recovery efforts continued across the state.