Hurricane Milton brought powerful winds, a dangerous storm surge and flooding to much of Florida after making landfall along the Gulf Coast as a Category 3 storm.
It weakened to a Category 1 storm as it moved through Florida early Thursday. Power outages were widespread and deaths have been reported from severe weather.
The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (205 kph) when it roared ashore in Siesta Key, south of the populated Tampa Bay region, the National Hurricane Center said. High winds, heavy rain and flooding hit areas including densely populated Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
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More than 100 residents were rescued from an assisted living facility in Tampa, according to a social media post Thursday morning from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.
The sheriff’s office and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue were out with amphibious equipment and the marine unit rescuing residents, Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the video.
It shows deputies in nearly waist-deep water outside the facility and residents with walkers being carried away on boats. The video shows flooded streets and parking lots and rescue workers with a boat floating next to a partially submerged flight of stairs helping an apartment building resident in a life jacket wrap up her cat.
Chronister can be seen offering to take a person in a home surrounded by flood waters to dry ground.
“This is extraordinary to see this type of flooding, especially in this type of area. The University of South Florida area is normally a dry area,” Chronister said in the video. “To see this unprecedented flooding, I can only imagine how scary it was.”
The tiny barrier island of Matlacha just off Fort Myers got hit by both a tornado and surge from Hurricane Milton, with many of the turquoise, salmon and lavender buildings sustaining serious damage.
Several collapsed or are knocked off their pilings. Utility poles are snapped and there was no power Thursday morning. The fishing and tourism village also got severely hit by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and Ian two years ago.
Ninety-year-old Tom Reynolds spent Thursday morning sweeping out the four feet of mud and water the surge deposited in his two-story home and collecting the large chunks of his home’s aluminum siding that had been ripped off by the tornado. Fortunately for Reynolds and others working outside Thursday, the temperatures were in the low 80s (mid-20s Celsius) and Milton had sucked away all the humidity.
The tornado, he said, had “picked up a car and thrown it across the road.” A house had been blown into another street, temporarily blocking it. Some structures caught fire.
Reynolds, who founded the glass and mirror company his son now runs, said he lost many of his power tools – he had stored them high in his shed, but the surge knocked it over.
He said plans to clean up his house, which he built three decade ago, get it fixed and stay.
“What else am I going to do?” Reynolds said.
ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Fla. — In the Spring Oaks neighborhood of Altamonte Springs north of Orlando, an impromptu lake formed from floodwaters on a residential street near Rupert and Ernine Gonzales’ split-level home.
They have lived in their house for 22 years, but never saw flooding until two years ago with Hurricane Ian.
Now, it’s becoming more regular. “The city must do something about this flooding, 100%,” Rupert Gonzales said.
“People here have gotten flooded, relocated, come back and gotten flooded again. It’s a way of life, it seems.” Soon or later, people won’t want to buy homes in his neighborhood, Gonzales said. “I’m very concerned because I have to live here and I have to see this flooding every time.”
BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — It was a “sigh of relief” when Police Chief John Cosby came across the bridge from the mainland to Anna Maria Island at 4:30 a.m. Thursday and didn’t see his community underwater.
“Very close to 100%” of residents evacuated this town ahead of Hurricane Milton, he said, after Hurricane Helene battered this barrier island community just two weeks ago, covering the streets with piles of sand like snowbanks from a blizzard.
“So far, knock on wood, we’ve had no injuries and no deaths in our community,” from Hurricane Milton, he said.
While wind from Milton battered already damaged homes and knocked at least one multi-story home off its pilings, the projected storm surge didn’t hit here, he said.
Piles of debris from Hurricane Helene still line the streets here. Mattresses, refrigerators, stacks of plates — some scattered but others sitting in their heaps — created a mess, but not the barrage of hurricane-driven missiles so many residents had feared.
A manufacturer of IV fluids critical to hospitals nationwide said Thursday that its Florida factory and distribution center were left intact after Hurricane Milton tore through the state.
B. Braun Medical Inc. said it would provide more details later Thursday about the Daytona Beach factory. The company had said earlier this week that it planned to restart production Friday morning.
The factory is seen as an important source of sterile intravenous, or IV, fluid supplies that had grown tight after Hurricane Helene hit Florida and several other states late last month.
That storm forced Baxter International to shut down a North Carolina factory that makes about 60% of the country's IV fluid supply.
WASHINGTON — According to the U.S. Air Force, MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa was evacuated as of Wednesday, and remains closed.
The base, which is home to U.S. Central Command and U.S. Special Operations Command, has about 185 personnel working at an emergency operations center out of Raymond James Stadium.
There were 13 KC-135 aircraft evacuated to McConnell Air Force Base, and other aircraft remained in hangars or away on military missions. A hurricane recovery team is enroute to the base to begin assessing damages and Air Forces Northern is working to provide civil air patrol flyovers to get an aerial view of the base.
Aircraft were also moved out of Patrick Space Force Base but there was no personnel evacuation ordered. Space Launch Delta 45 has a team doing damage assessments. Seven F-16 fighter jets from the 482nd Fighter Wing were moved from Homestead Air Reserve Base to San Antonio, Texas.
The U.S. Navy said there was “negligible damage” at the Mayport, Jacksonville and Kings Bay naval bases and they are expected to return to normal operations on Thursday.
SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert said in a statement that she spoke with President Joe Biden on Wednesday.
Alpert said the call was unexpected and that Biden promised her federal support in the recovery from the storm.
“He understands ... it will take a lot from the federal government to help us recover in Sarasota,” Alpert said. “We’re grateful for the support and thank President Biden for reaching out.”
The city said in a statement that crews are working to clear roadways and assess the damage caused by the storm.
BRADENTON BEACH, Fla. — City workers were feeling grateful not to be wading through deep floodwaters as they picked up storm debris Thursday morning in this beach town on Anna Maria Island.
Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Helene battered homes and businesses and blew in piles of sand four to six feet high along Bradenton Beach's streets.
Residents had feared that the loss of the sand along the beach here may have left it more vulnerable to further erosion from Hurricane Milton, in this community where wooden beach bungalows still stand among newer two- and three-story houses.
Jeremi Roberts of the State Emergency Response Team said the piles of sand may have helped shield homes here from further damage from Milton.
SARASOTA, Fla. — Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche said in a video statement on social media that the damage from Hurricane Milton doesn’t appear as bad as initially feared and the search and rescue operations are underway.
“My ask is please don’t rush home right now, we’re still trying to assess what’s going on,” Troche said. “We still have downed power lines, we still have trees in the roadway.”
The city of Sarasota said in a statement that residents are urged to continue to shelter in place as the storm surge is expected through Thursday afternoon and to conserve water because of numerous broken water lines in the city.
Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi said damage assessments began Thursday morning; roads are being cleared and residents should remain in place.
“We do have power outages across about 75% of the county, but we are doing the best we can to assess,” Tapfumaneyi said.
WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has been briefed on the initial impacts of Hurricane Milton.
Biden was briefed early Thursday by Homeland Security Advisor Liz Sherwood-Randall and FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell.
The White House said Biden will hold another briefing on the federal response to the storm, and the role the Pentagon and the Coast Guard are playing in disaster response.
Vice President Kamala Harris will join that briefing by videoconference from Las Vegas, where she is holding campaign events.
FORT MYERS BEACH, Fla. — In Fort Myers Beach, a town of about 6,000 on Estero Island about 110 miles (177 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, Mayor Dan Allers told Fox News that damage assessments are underway.
“Our immediate concern is getting the road open so we can get water restored, get power back on and so we can get our residents back,” Allers said.
Allers said the damage appears worse than Hurricane Helene, but not as bad as Hurricane Ian in 2022.
Separately, emergency responders have resumed responding to calls in southwestern Florida’s Charlotte County, southeast of Tampa. That is according to post on X by Charlotte County Emergency Management.
Hurricane Milton was a significant storm but not “the worst case scenario," Florida's governor says.
Gov. Ron DeSantis told reporters Thursday that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3 meters) — less than in the worst place during Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago.
“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses,” he said. “The storm was significant but thankfully, this was not the worst case scenario.”
Water levels in many Florida rivers are forecast to continue rising, he said. Because of the amount of water flooding happen not just now but in the subsequent days, he said.
Milton powered east-northeast across Florida to the Atlantic Ocean and offshore early Thursday with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (145 kph), the National Hurricane Center in Miami said in an 8 a.m. update.
That kept Milton at Category 1 hurricane strength.
Category 1 storms, though not considered “major” hurricanes, are still devastating. The catastrophic Hurricane Katrina made its initial landfall along the southeast coast of Florida in 2005 as a Category 1 and was one of the deadliest and most costly storms to hit the mainland U.S. as it strengthened.
Sustained winds differ from gusts, which were reported as high as 102 mph (165 kph) in some parts of Florida during the early hours of Milton. Gusts are sudden bursts in wind speed, are typically higher than sustained winds and last only a few seconds at a time.
Overnight, several high wind gusts were reported, including 84 mph (135 kph) at Daytona Beach International Airport; 77 mph (124 kph) at a NASA weather station at Cape Canaveral; and 62 mph (100 kph) at Melbourne International Airport, the hurricane center said.
FORT PIERCE, Fla. — Tornadoes ahead of Hurricane Milton killed four people, St. Lucie County officials said.
Before Milton even made landfall, heavy rain and tornadoes lashed parts of southern Florida Wednesday morning. The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and some residents killed.
Four people were killed in tornadoes there, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane came ashore, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
PLANT CITY, Fla. — There was significant damage in west-central Florida, including in the community of Plant City, an official said.
“One of the most profound things I’m seeing is the flooding. We have flooding in places and to levels that I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community for my entire life,” City Manager Bill McDaniel said in a video posted online Thursday morning. “It’s absolutely staggering, what we’re seeing out there. Last night, members of our police and fire department performed rescues of 35 individuals from flooded structures here.”
Plant City has about 40,000 people. McDaniel added, “The police and the fire departments have their hands full. we’re bringing out crews to clean up the tree debris and get our roadways clear.”
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Hurricane Milton brought flooding to Florida’s Atlantic Coast early Thursday.
In Volusia County, where Daytona Beach is located, high water rescue teams were out in full force in the South Daytona area, sheriff’s officials said.
TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa police officers rescued 15 people from a one-story home that was damaged when a tree fell as Hurricane Milton was passing through.
“The swift actions taken by these officers during a break in the storm bands provided this family with a sense of safety in a time of fear and uncertainty,” Tampa police Chief Lee Bercaw said.
The residents were taken to a nearby shelter as bands from the hurricane were still passing through Tampa. No one was injured.
FORT MYERS, Fla. — In Lee County, where Fort Myers is located, the local sheriff’s office noted that many roads were either under water or blocked by fallen trees, downed power lines or other debris.
Some areas in Lee County had 3 feet (0.9 meters) of water covering roads.
A draw bridge just east of Matlacha, where about 600 people live on a barrier island, is partially blocked by a house, sheriff's officials said. The Matlacha area was also devastated by Hurricane Ian in 2022.
LONDON — The Jacksonville Jaguars plan to arrive to London later than expected Friday because of Hurricane Milton, the team confirmed ahead of Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears.
A team spokesperson said the team’s departure time has been “slightly” delayed.
TAMPA, Fla. — The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office has started rescue operations in at least one neighborhood.
“Our teams are on the ground, moving people to safety,” the sheriff’s office said on Facebook.
Sheriff Chad Chronister said in a post that crews have been responding to calls since early Thursday.
“Our cut teams are out cutting trees, trying to open up some of the roadways. There are downed powerlines and trees everywhere. Please stay indoors. We’ll let you know when it’s safe to come out,” he said.
Officials in hard-hit Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, also are urging residents to stay where they are.
SARASOTA, Fla. — In Sarasota County, “first-in” emergency crews were reporting downed power lines and trees in roadways, the Sarasota County Sheriff’s Office said in a social media post early Thursday.
Some bridges in the county were not passable after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, a barrier island off Sarasota. The sheriff’s office urged residents and business owners to stay off the roads to allow emergency and utility crews time to work.
“The storm may have passed but it is still dangerous to be traveling this morning,” the sheriff’s office said.
Hurricane Milton's tear of destruction across central Florida left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power around 4 a.m. EDT Thursday, according to PowerOutages.us.
Energy companies serve more than 11.5 million customer accounts across the state, according to the website.
Milton’s high winds and intense rains continued into Thursday morning. Florida's central Gulf Coast was hardest hit by the outages, including Hardee, Sarasota, Hillsborough and Manatee counties.
MIAMI — The National Weather Service says the storm’s maximum sustained wind speed was 90 mph (145 kph) at about 1 a.m. Thursday as it passed east of Lakeland, Florida, on its way across the central peninsula.
The weather service uses the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale to estimate potential property damage caused by a hurricane’s sustained wind speed. A Category 1 hurricane is considered to have very dangerous winds that topple shallow-rooted trees, snap tree limbs and damage the exterior of well-constructed frame homes. They can also cause extensive damage to power lines.
Hurricane Milton was a Category 3 storm when it made landfall Wednesday evening. That rating means devastating damage is expected to occur, including roofs torn from well-constructed homes, trees uprooted, and electricity and water systems unavailable for days to weeks.
High wind speeds are not the only dangers caused by hurricanes. Hurricane Milton spawned several devastating tornadoes that wreaked havoc on Florida communities Wednesday afternoon. Heavy rainfall and storm surges also caused dangerous flooding in some coastal areas.
MIAMI — The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 100 mph (160 kph) as it hovered near Fort Meade, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of Tampa, early Thursday morning, the National Weather Service said.
The hurricane was expected to continue traveling mostly eastward until it enters the Atlantic Ocean sometime late Thursday, the weather service said.
The damaging winds were accompanied by heavy rainfall, and the weather service issued a flash flood emergency statement for portions of west-central Florida. Flash flood emergency statements generally mean life-threatening catastrophic water rising events are already underway or expected to occur in the immediate future.
St. Petersburg officials warned residents that a broken water main forced the city to temporarily shut off its drinking water service at midnight. The city said residents should boil any water used for drinking, cooking or brushing teeth until the system is restored.
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The National Weather Service says it has received reports of multiple collapsed cranes due to high winds in St. Petersburg, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) south of Siesta Key, where Milton made landfall.
St. Petersburg Fire Rescue confirmed one collapse late Wednesday about six blocks from the city's pier. There were no reports of injuries.
The crane was at the site of a 515-foot-tall (157-meter-tall) luxury high-rise building under construction that is being billed as one of the tallest buildings on the west coast of Florida. It was scheduled to be completed in summer 2025.