Hurricane Milton leaves Florida without causing feared flooding; Four dead

According to local authorities, at least four people died in two tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton on the east coast of the US state of Florida on Thursday.

In a statement on its website, St. Lucie County confirmed “four fatalities as a result of these tornadoes.”

Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida on Thursday, triggering tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power to millions before blowing into the Atlantic.

However, the Tampa Bay area appeared to have escaped the feared flooding catastrophe.

At least four deaths were reported in St. Lucie County on Florida’s Atlantic coast when an unconfirmed tornado leveled a retirement community, local media reported, citing county officials. Reuters could not immediately confirm the report.

More than 3 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power as of Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. At least some of them had waited days for power to be restored after Hurricane Helene hit the area nearly two weeks ago.

The hurricane also tore a gaping hole in the roof of Tropicana Field, the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team’s stadium in St. Petersburg, but there were no reports of injuries.

“A blessing for us is that we did not experience the storm surge that was predicted. That saved a lot,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said during an early morning news conference.

In the Tampa area, the storm toppled trees, sent debris across roads and downed power lines, local news video showed. Some neighborhoods were flooded, but the extent of the damage won’t be known until emergency responders get out and assess the destruction, Castor said.

Emergency responders in the area responded to dozens of calls for help overnight, including one where a tree fell on a home where 15 people, including children, were inside, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said. All 15 people were taken to an emergency shelter, he said.

The wind also toppled a large construction crane in St. Petersburg, causing the structure to collapse onto a deserted street.

The state was still at risk of river flooding after up to 18 inches of rain. Authorities were still waiting for rivers to peak, but so far water levels were at or below levels reached by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, Castor said Thursday morning.

“IMMEDIATELY”

In Fort Myers on the southwest coast, resident Connor Ferin examined the rubble of his home, which lost its roof after a sudden tornado and was full of debris and rainwater.

“This all happened in an instant, like those windows were blown out,” he said. “I grabbed the two dogs, ran under my bed and that was it. Probably a minute total.”

The storm hit the west coast of Florida on Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane on the five-level Saffir-Simpson scale, with peak sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (205 km/h). Although still a dangerous storm, it was less severe than the rare Category 5 hurricane that had threatened the state as it moved across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.

Milton weakened as it crossed land and became a Category 1 hurricane with peak sustained winds of 85 miles per hour (145 km/h) as it reached the east coast of the peninsula, the National Hurricane Center said. On Thursday morning, the storm moved away from Florida’s Atlantic coast after devastating communities on the East Coast.

The eye of the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of about 5,400 people off Sarasota, about 60 miles (100 km) south of Tampa Bay.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning that emergency crews across the state spent the night clearing debris. US President Joe Biden’s administration has agreed to all of Florida’s requests for emergency aid, he told CNBC.

“Our state is a peninsula in the middle of a tropical environment. I mean, we’re just designed to be able to respond to hurricanes,” DeSantis said. “We will assess the damage and get people on their feet. We will get through this.”

Milton also produced at least 19 tornadoes, the governor said, causing damage in numerous counties and destroying about 125 homes, most of them mobile homes.

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson estimated 100 homes were destroyed in the county, where about 17 tornadoes touched down, NBC said.

In a state already hit by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, up to two million people were ordered to evacuate before Milton’s arrival, and millions more live in the storm’s path.

Much of the southern United States experienced Helene’s deadly power as it swept through Florida and several other states. Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage.

According to flight tracking website FlightAware, 2,209 U.S. flights had been canceled as of Thursday morning, with the majority of cancellations coming from Orlando, Tampa and Southwest Florida.