Hurricane Milton struck Florida on Thursday, causing a lot of damage as it moved across the state. The hurricane brought strong winds and even tornadoes, which sadly resulted in at least 10 deaths. However, the bad flooding that many people worried about didn’t happen as badly as expected.
Governor Ron DeSantis said Florida avoided the worst-case scenario, but he reminded everyone that there was still a lot of damage and flooding was still a problem. The Tampa Bay area was mostly safe from the feared storm surge, but some nearby areas saw a lot of flooding.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, reported that tornadoes caused the deaths, and at least 27 tornadoes touched down in Florida. In St. Lucie County, five people lost their lives due to tornadoes, including two from a senior-living community.
There were clear signs of the tornadoes’ power, like broken concrete poles and overturned trucks. Crystal Coleman, a local resident, described how she and her daughter hid in their bathroom as a tornado tore off the roof of their home. “It felt like I was in a movie,” she said, feeling very scared.
On Thursday afternoon, more than 3.2 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power, with some already struggling after Hurricane Helene hit two weeks earlier. Milton also damaged the roof of Tropicana Field, the home stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays, but no injuries were reported there.
In downtown St. Petersburg, many people gathered to see a fallen crane that had sliced part of a building. Nearby resident Alberta Momenthy found it shocking to see the damage.
Some residents decided to stay put instead of evacuating, thinking it would be safer. Steven Cole Smith, who lives in Tampa, felt the strong winds shaking the windows and thought they would break.
Ken Wood, another resident, left his home with his cat, Andy, after deciding not to ride out the storm like he did for Hurricane Helene. He made sure to find a hotel that felt safer.
While the storm was dangerous, the state is still at risk for flooding from the heavy rain, with up to 18 inches (about 46 cm) falling in some areas. Authorities were watching rivers to see if they would overflow, but so far they were not as high as during Hurricane Helene.
Federal Emergency Management Agency head Deanne Criswell noted that most of the severe damage came from the tornadoes, and the evacuation orders helped save many lives, with over 90,000 people finding shelter.
In Fort Myers, resident Connor Ferin had a frightening experience when a tornado destroyed his home. He quickly grabbed his dogs and hid under his bed as windows blew out. “All this happened instantaneously,” he said.
President Joe Biden, who put off a trip abroad to focus on the storm’s aftermath, said he believes Congress should come back to help with disaster relief funding.
Hurricane Milton hit Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, with winds up to 120 mph (about 193 km/h). It had weakened from its earlier strength as a Category 5 hurricane before reaching the coast.
