Hurricane Milton swept across the Florida Peninsula on Thursday, carving a trail of destruction from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic. The storm claimed at least ten lives and left millions without power, but fortunately, it did not match the dire predictions that meteorologists, officials, and residents had feared.
Milton unleashed its fury by flooding neighborhoods, destroying homes, tearing the roof off a major sports venue, and toppling a massive crane into an office building. Two fatalities occurred in St. Petersburg, one in Volusia County, and five in St. Lucie County on Florida’s east coast due to tornadoes.
As the storm moved off the state’s eastern coast, power outages increased, leaving nearly 3.4 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to poweroutage.us.
The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario, Gov. Ron DeSantis remarked at a briefing on Thursday. He noted that the storm weakened before landfall and the storm surge was not as severe as initially projected, especially compared to Hurricane Helene.
DeSantis highlighted that Tampa experienced a reverse storm surge, which pulled water away from the shoreline instead of inundating the city. The Florida Division of Emergency Management cautioned residents via social media against venturing into receding waters, warning that the water WILL return through storm surge and poses a life-threatening risk.
Milton’s fierce onslaught occurred two weeks after Hurricane Helene struck the Florida coast, eventually causing devastation across at least seven states. Milton made landfall at approximately 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on Florida’s western coast as a Category 3 hurricane, packing sustained winds of 120 mph and accompanied by multiple tornadoes.
