Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida, intensifying concerns as it approaches densely populated areas along the Gulf Coast including Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Fort Myers. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported that the Category 3 storm struck near Siesta Key in Sarasota County at approximately 8:30 PM local time on Wednesday, unleashing sustained winds of 120 mph.
The aftermath has seen over 1.5 million homes and businesses left without power, with Sarasota and neighboring Manatee counties reporting the highest outages, according to poweroutage.us. Milton is expected to cause a deadly storm surge throughout much of Florida’s Gulf Coast.
As the hurricane approached, nearly 100,000 residents were taking shelter in evacuation centers across the state, as reported by NBC, citing Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Ahead of the storm’s landfall, President Joe Biden warned that Milton could be “one of the most destructive hurricanes in Florida in over a century,” stressing the need for residents in its path to heed local officials.
Even before Milton made landfall, tornadoes had already touched down in parts of the state. NBC confirmed that at least two fatalities resulted from a tornado in St. Lucie County, with several others hospitalized due to injuries.
Sky News correspondent James Matthews, reporting from Tampa, described the powerful effects of the storm: “You can hear the roar and sense it in the wind. This hurricane is considered historic—the strongest to hit this part of Florida in over 100 years.” Although Milton diminished from a Category 5 to a Category 3 by the time it landed, Matthews emphasized that it remains highly dangerous.
With darkness falling, officials made urgent last-minute pleas for the nearly two million individuals under evacuation orders to flee or face dire consequences. “For those who experienced Hurricane Helene, this one will be a knockout,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County. Meanwhile, Paul Womble, Polk County’s emergency management director, recommended that those who had not evacuated avoid leaving unless absolutely necessary.
Traffic was heavy along Interstate 75 as residents evacuated northward, while southbound lanes also saw significant congestion as others sought refuge in Fort Lauderdale and Miami.
Elsewhere, animals at Tampa’s zoo were secured in hurricane-resistant buildings in preparation for the storm. The region is still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which inflicted extensive damage and resulted in more than 200 fatalities.
Once it passes Florida, Hurricane Milton is expected to weaken over the western Atlantic, potentially dropping below hurricane strength by Thursday night. However, storm surges will continue to pose risks to Florida’s Atlantic coast.
Credit: Sky News
