Extremely Dangerous Hurricane Milton Strikes Florida’s West Coast, Leaving Widespread Damage

Hurricane Milton surged across central Florida on Thursday after making landfall on the state’s west coast, bringing destructive tornadoes, widespread flooding, and power outages affecting nearly 2 million residents.

The Category 3 hurricane made landfall at Siesta Key, south of Tampa Bay, around 8:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, with sustained winds of 120 mph (195 kph). By 11 p.m., the storm weakened to a Category 2, with wind speeds of 105 mph (165 kph), though it remained highly dangerous, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

St. Petersburg saw over 16 inches of rain, prompting flash flood warnings for the Tampa Bay area. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis reported the storm also triggered at least 19 tornadoes, destroying more than 100 homes, predominantly mobile homes.

“At this point, it’s too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place and hunker down,” DeSantis advised.

Fort Pierce, on Florida’s east coast, was hit by a suspected tornado that killed two people in a retirement community, with 17 tornadoes reported in St. Lucie County alone.

PowerOutage.us recorded more than 1.8 million homes and businesses without electricity. Hurricane Milton is expected to cross Florida overnight and move into the Atlantic, still posing storm surge threats on the eastern coast.

With recovery from Hurricane Helene still underway, DeSantis emphasized that state and federal resources, including 9,000 National Guard troops and 50,000 electricity workers, are ready to assist in the aftermath of Milton. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell reassured that ongoing aid for Helene would not be affected by the new disaster response.

Rescue operations are set to commence once the storm passes, likely occurring overnight as conditions allow.