Hurricane Milton plunged into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, the 10th of October, after wreaking havoc by sweeping across Florida spawning at least 19 tornadoes, killing at least 16 people and leaving millions without power, but the storm did not cause the catastrophic water surge that had been feared, reports Reuters.
Governor Ron DeSantis said the state had escaped the “worst-case scenario” but noted that the damage was still significant, and flooding was still a concern.
Water going down – but still pretty high here in Tampa.This is not storm surge — all flooding from the rain in a part of North Tampa that doesn’t normally flood. pic.twitter.com/0R4Hi75fpj
— Brian Entin (@BrianEntin) October 10, 2024
The fifth strongest Atlantic hurricane in history, Milton could COST insurers alone up to 100 billion US dollars,
analysts say, with the White House pledging government support as it continues to survey the extent of the damage.
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told a White House briefing that ten deaths had been reported so far, adding that they appeared to have been caused by the tornado. At least 27 tornadoes were raging in Florida, he said.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement stated that at least 16 tornado-related deaths had been reported.
Wind damage in Bradenton Florida this morning following the landfall of Hurricane Milton. Lots of roof damage all around and power outage issues leading to traffic backups and car accidents. #milton #hurricane #flwx #Florida pic.twitter.com/SV8NjM8PMx
— Dan Whittaker (@severeforecast) October 10, 2024
First look at the damage 👀 Drone images from Grove City, Fla., show significant damage to waterfront properties, homes moved from their foundations, and multiple boats/yachts pushed against homes. The storm surge is estimated to have been around 10 feet in that area.
Read our… pic.twitter.com/997AFrKxxB
— Weather & Radar USA (@WeatherRadar_US) October 10, 2024
Horrific storm surge damage from Englewood, Florida #HurricaneMilton @NWSTampaBay @NHC_Atlantic @jpetramala pic.twitter.com/TLxZvJqwcA
— WxChasing- Brandon Clement (@bclemms) October 10, 2024
Roofs were blown off, concrete electricity poles and palm trees were knocked down, sand washed up and cars were overturned on Thursday. At least 100 houses were reported destroyed.
Now that the sun is up, here’s a 360-degree view of the damage Hurricane Milton caused to Tropicana Field’s roof and the inside of the ballpark. Absolutely heartbreaking 💔 pic.twitter.com/ZCtPHv6rE9
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) October 10, 2024
Milton also tore the fabric roof off the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium in St Petersburg, but no casualties were reported. Thousands of beds were set up at the stadium to shelter Hurricane Helene responders.
More than 3.2 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power on Thursday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us. At least some had been waiting for days for power to be restored after Hurricane Helene hit the area two weeks ago.
Most of the serious damage reported so far was caused by tornadoes, according to Deanne Criswell, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
“Evacuation orders saved lives,” she said, noting that more than 90 000 people were hiding in shelters.
Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday evening as a Category Three storm with 195km/h winds, after weakening from its previous Category Five status as it crossed the Gulf of Mexico.