Hurricane Milton tore through Florida, spawning multiple dangerous tornadoes, heavy rainfall, storm surges and flash floods that left more than 3 million homes and businesses without power, before moving into the Atlantic Ocean early on Thursday.
In this aerial view, boats are washed ashore from when Hurricane Milton passed through the area on ... [+]
Milton made landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday night as a major Category 3 Hurricane with maximum sustained wind speeds of 120 mph on Wednesday evening.
In St. Petersburg, the hurricane tore through the roof of Tropicana Field—the baseball stadium that is home to the Tampa Bay Rays—and caused multiple cranes in the city to topple.
In a press conference on Thursday morning, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the city suffered “extensive damage” from the hurricane as she urged citizens to remain indoors.
However, the Tampa Bay metropolitan area—which also includes the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater and is home to 3 million residents—appeared to have been largely spared from the deadly storm surge that authorities feared would cause massive destruction.
The hurricane spawned more than a dozen dangerous tornadoes that destroyed hundreds of homes and caused at least four deaths in St. Lucie County, according to NBC News.
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3.3 million. That is the number of homes and businesses across Florida that are without power as of Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.US.
The roof at Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays, sustained major damage from Hurricane ... [+]
A crane used at the construction site of a luxury high-rise apartment crashed into a nearby building ... [+]
Residents are rescued from an apartment complex in Clearwater that was flooded from and overflowing ... [+]
Boats rest in the yard of a house in Punta Gorda after they were washed ashore by Hurricane Milton.
Storm debris in Sarasota, Florida after Milton passed through the area.
A vehicle is stranded on a water-flooded street after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Brandon, ... [+]
Water-flooded streets in Fort Myers, Florida after Milton made landfall in the city.
High water is seen in Tampa in the aftermath of hurricane Milton.
A downed tree lies across a road after the passage of Hurricane Milton, in downtown Tampa/