Hurricane Milton hits Florida and makes landfall

More than 3 million people are without power and more than 100 rescue operations are underway in Florida on Thursday after Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key last night as a Category 3 storm, causing tornadoes to strike in St. Lucie County cost four people their lives.

Milton, which was a Category 1 storm at the time of this report, is currently moving away from Florida's east coast after hitting the state with damaging winds and dangerous flooding.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced this morning that 48 people have been rescued so far and that “hundreds of rescuers are involved in over 125 active operations in 26 different counties.”

“The storm was significant, but fortunately this was not the worst-case scenario,” DeSantis said. “The storm brought a lot of destruction and damage. Tornadoes devastated parts of the state's east coast. Flooding occurred on the west and east coasts, and strong winds lashed the state, particularly in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties.”

ROOF OF TROPICANA FIELD RIPPED UP BY HURRICANE MILTON

On Thursday, October 10, a construction crane crashed into an office building that houses the Tampa Bay Times headquarters. (Tampa Bay Times via AP)

“During the past 24 hours, heavy rainfall exceeding 10 to 15 inches was observed across much of the Tampa Bay area and the Nature Coast, spreading eastward along the I-4 corridor toward Sanford,” added DeSantis added. “Isolated rainfall amounts of up to 18 inches were observed in Pinellas and coastal Hillsborough counties.”

“Water levels are forecast to continue to rise along rivers and waterways in northeast and west central Florida, with many forecast to remain in or reach moderate to flooded status over the next day or so,” he continued. “Right now it looks like Sarasota County has had the largest storm surge, probably somewhere between 8 and 10 feet.”

Water rescues have been reported in Hillsborough County, Orlando and Clearwater, while police in other parts of the state are warning locals to stay off roads to avoid downed power lines.

On Thursday, October 10, flooding occurred in Punta Gorda, Florida following Hurricane Milton. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said Thursday: “What we were really concerned about was the storm surge. And so fortunately we haven’t seen its climax yet, but it’s not over yet.”

“When the tide comes in this morning, rivers will be flooded. Anywhere in Hillsborough County, not just the city of Tampa,” she added.

In St. Petersburg, where the roof of the Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field was torn off, 18 inches of rain was recorded in 24 hours, according to Fox Weather.

Tornado damage to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office building following Hurricane Milton. (Eric Hasert/TCPALM/USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images)

HURRICANE MILTON FORCES ST. PETERSBURG CRANE COLLAPSE

“It is imperative that everyone stays indoors and stays off the roads. We have hundreds of calls about downed power lines,” Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw said Thursday morning. “We have cut down trees and are actively out there making the city and the streets safer. So please stay inside until we give you the all clear.”

St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson also confirmed to Fox Weather that there have been 17 tornadoes in his county and multiple fatalities, “a rescue mission is underway and hundreds of homes have been destroyed.”

Some areas of Florida's west coast have seen up to 10 feet of water pouring in from the Gulf, while storm surges of up to 5 feet are expected from Jacksonville to Cape Canaveral.

As of 8 a.m. ET Thursday, the storm was currently located about 75 miles northeast of Cape Canaveral.

Volusia County Fire Rescue personnel responded to a flood emergency call before dawn as Hurricane Milton moved over Daytona, Florida on Thursday, October 10th. (Nadia Zomorodian/News Journal/USA Today Network/Reuters)

DeSantis said more than 3.1 million people are without power across Florida.

Melissa Seixas, president of Duke Energy, told “Fox & Friends” that more than 800,000 of its customers in 35 counties across the state were without power.

“We are now starting to carry out damage assessments. We're going to do this with ground forces, we're going to do it with helicopters and drones, we really need that line of sight to know exactly what we're dealing with as damage,” she added. “We expect that “It will range from significant downed masts and lines to a lot of tree debris, to the remains of Helene and flooding and storm surges that are likely to occur in certain locations.”

In Orlando, first responders were seen in boats conducting water rescues for residents of a flooded apartment building.

The Sarasota County Sheriff's Office added Thursday: “We understand that some of the bridges in the county are impassable” and “We urge residents and business owners to stay off the roads and allow our emergency and utility teams time to work.” give.”

Hurricane MILTON triggers a deadly tornado outbreak in South Florida

Boats rest in a yard in Punta Gorda after Hurricane Milton passed through the area. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Palm Beach County Fire Department said last night that it “responded to multiple reports of tornadoes, associated injuries and trapped people this afternoon in the Wellington, Acreage and Loxahatchee areas.”

“Firefighters located and rescued several people from damaged buildings and vehicles,” it said. “Some were trapped under debris or stuck in overturned vehicles that were tossed around by strong winds.”

Milton's catastrophic landfall came barely two weeks after Hurricane Helene, which devastated Florida before wreaking havoc in North Carolina. Floridians have spent the interim boarding up windows and evacuating their homes in preparation for Milton.

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President Biden declared Florida a disaster area prior to Milton's landfall to facilitate FEMA's preparations and response.