First casualties recorded as Hurricane Milton hits Florida
Monster storm Hurricane Milton has landed in Florida with the first casualties reported as the state is battered by 'catastrophic' flooding and 120mph winds.
The National Weather Service said flash flooding was occurring in the Tampa Bay area, including St. Petersburg, where over 16 inches of rain has fallen so far.
More than 1.5 million homes and businesses were without power Wednesday night in Florida, while about 125 homes were destroyed.
Meanwhile, the Sheriff of Florida’s St. Lucie County revealed there have been ‘multiple fatalities’ after the area was ravaged by a tornado before the hurricane even made landfall, MailOnline reports.
Sheriff Keith Pearson did not say exactly how many were killed, but they died when the twisters hit the Spanish Lakes Country Club in Fort Pierce, where many had been sheltering.
Milton slammed into a Florida region still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which caused heavy damage to beach communities with storm surge and killed a dozen people in seaside Pinellas County alone.
Earlier, officials issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival.
‘This is it, folks,’ said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. ‘Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.’
The latest update from the National Hurricane Centre warned the deadly storm’s catastrophic march over Florida’s west coast has started.
Entire palm trees have reportedly been ripped from their trunks and terrifying footage shows vehicles racing away from the incoming storm.
One video posted by the NOAA shows massive, 28-foot waves caused by the weather – longer than a London bus.
