Rescuers were pulling Florida residents from the rubble of Hurricane Milton, which killed at least 16 people, on Thursday, US media reported.
Just two weeks after Hurricane Helene’s disasters, the storm cut power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, ripped the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.
There were at least 16 hurricane-related deaths, CBS News cited the Florida Department of Law Enforcement as saying.
Among the most dramatic rescues: Hillsborough County employees found a 14-year-old boy floating on a piece of fence and pulled him to a boat.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico after his fishing boat ran aground in hurricane Milton waters.
The agency estimates the man survived 75-90 mph winds and waves up to 25 feet high overnight on the water. Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Dana Grady said:
This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner.
Despite the devastation, many people expressed relief that Milton was not worse. The hurricane avoided a direct hit on Tampa, and the deadly storm surge that scientists feared never occurred.
Category 3 hurricane
The hurricane moved south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday afternoon as a Category 3 hurricane near Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa.
The damage was extensive and water levels could continue to rise for days, but Governor Ron DeSantis said it wasn’t a “worst-case scenario.” He told a briefing in Sarasota:
You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks — not easy to go through — but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state. I am very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly.
Authorities said five people were killed in a tornado at the Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce on Florida’s Atlantic coast, where homes were destroyed. In Tampa, police also found the body of a woman under a fallen tree branch.
Authorities in Volusia County said two people – a 79-year-old woman in Ormond Beach and a 54-year-old woman in Port Orange – also died when trees fell on homes.
Speaking at a White House briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said up to 10 people were reported killed in the tornado, but he cautioned that the number was preliminary.
At least 340 people and 49 pets have been rescued in ongoing efforts, Mr DeSantis said on Thursday afternoon.
Authorities in hurricane-ravaged Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee counties in Florida urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees on roads, blocked bridges and flooding.
About 80,000 people spent the night in shelters and thousands more fled after authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders in 15 Florida counties with a combined population of about 7.2 million.
Flooded Disney
Entertainment centres and theme parks, including Walt Disney World, have halted operations in the region. The network publishes footage of the flooded park – the water stands right by the famous castle from the splash page of Disney cartoons.
In Punta Gorda, a 10-foot surge of water from the Peace River hit the historic district, damaging homes and flooding six boats on a waterfront street. It was the third surge of water in the area in the past three months.
By Thursday afternoon, Milton was heading into the Atlantic Ocean as a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 75 miles per hour – hardly hurricane strength.
Losses from Milton
More than 3,000 flights were cancelled or delayed in the US because of the hurricane. In some parts of Florida, the work of emergency services was suspended for several hours, they have now begun responding to calls received overnight. Although the hurricane has left land and is moving over the Atlantic Ocean, the threat of flooding from storm surge and heavy rain remains for the East Coast.
Analysts surveyed by US Today said the global insurance industry could suffer losses of up to $100bn because of Milton, leading to a surge in reinsurance prices in 2025 and an increase in the capitalisation of individual insurance companies.
Milton was the third hurricane to hit Florida since the beginning of the year. Less than two weeks earlier, on September 26, Hurricane Helene brought destruction and death. It swept across the southeastern US, hitting North and South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia and Kentucky hardest. At least 230 people died, making the hurricane one of the deadliest in US history – only hurricane Maria (2017, 2,975 deaths) and hurricane Katrina (2005, 1,392 deaths) claimed more lives. The damage from hurricane Helene amounted to at least $190bn.
