Hurricane Milton live updates: Major flash flood warnings as more than 1.5 million people without power in Florida | Hurricane Milton

The St. Lucie County Sheriff says tornadoes have killed residents

Before Milton even made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast Wednesday evening, tornadoes touched down across the state, AP reports.

Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida’s Atlantic coast, was particularly hard hit, destroying homes and killing some residents.

“We lost some lives,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News. He did not say how many died.

Hurricane Milton will continue to bring “devastating rains and damaging winds” across Florida’s central peninsula throughout Thursday before leaving the state for the Atlantic Ocean late in the day, the National Weather Service said.

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 100 miles per hour at 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to the weather service. Storm surge warnings were in effect for portions of Florida’s western and eastern coastlines.

We have more videos from different parts of Florida showing how badly it’s being battered. One shows that the Tampa Bay Rays stadium has lost its roof:

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CNN reports that there have been “multiple fatalities” in St. Lucie County, Florida.

Several people have died at Spanish Lakes Country Club, the outlet reports, but details remain unclear.

We’ll bring you more as soon as we get it.

Philip Wen

Cental Flordia is now experiencing devastating rains, the National Hurricane Center says:

Field weather reporter Charles Peek shared a video about conditions in Tampa:

Floodwaters in Venice have also increased:

More than 1.5 million people are without power and 125 homes have been destroyed

More than 1.5 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida on Wednesday evening, according to poweroutage.us, Reuters reported. The highest number of outages occurred in Hardee County, as well as neighboring Sarasota and Manatee counties.

About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane even made landfall, many of them mobile homes in senior living communities, said Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

About 90 minutes after making landfall Wednesday evening, Milton was about 20 miles (30 kilometers) northeast of Sarasota and had weakened slightly with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph (175 kph), making it a Category 2 storm, it reported the hurricane center. It was moving from east to northeast at a speed of 16 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service Hurricane Center in Miami says Hurricane Milton’s sustained wind speeds have decreased to about 110 miles per hour (175 km/h), dropping the tropical storm to a Category 2 hurricane.

We have a new position update on Hurricane Milton from the National Hurricane Center. There are currently gusts of wind of 130 km/h:

Local weather producer Steve Petyerak shared this video of rising floodwaters in Port Charlotte:

Nine minutes away in Punta Gorda, FL, there is also flooding.

In the video you can hear the person describing how within 20 minutes there was a “big wave” that covered the ground.

“Puta Gorda, getting flooded… big problems here,” he says.

The video shows how far he has risen, with huge flashes in the background.

President Joe Biden has spoken with officials in Florida, including Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer; Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert; and Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Kathy Castor, the White House said.

The President told each of these leaders to call him directly if they needed additional assistance with rescue, response and recovery efforts. Biden also emphasized that he will be with them and their communities before, during and after the storm.

The President also spoke with Senators Thom Tillis and Jon Ossoff to discuss the ongoing response and recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene.

The White House said:

Throughout the afternoon, the President received regular briefings on the final path of Hurricane Milton and the expected impact on the state of Florida.

He will continue to receive updates from his team throughout the night as the storm moves across the Florida peninsula.

One million without power as Milton strikes

Zoo animals hunkered down as Hurricane Milton approached

African elephants, Caribbean flamingos, pygmy hippos and about a thousand other animals are riding the monstrous Hurricane Milton at the Tampa Zoo, Reuters reports.

For many of the animals, the storm will mean giving up the comfort of their daily shelters, but they won’t have to leave ZooTampa’s 28-acre property, even though it is in a mandatory evacuation zone. said Tiffany Burns, senior director of its animal programs.

Some critters will have to share shuttered sheds or wait out the rough weather in crates spread across a dozen hurricane-hardened buildings at the zoo.
Some will remain in their habitat. The alligators will usually just nap at the bottom of their ponds, unfazed by Milton’s wrath.

“Nothing bothers them,” Burns said

The dozens of zoo keepers weathering the storm with their furry and feathered coats include a veterinarian and maintenance staff, she said.

Contrasting images of Hurricane Milton’s toll are pouring in as the storm hits Florida’s west coast.

Despite heavy rainfall, water levels appear low in Tampa, where a reverse storm surge has sucked water from the bay. That’s because the storm made landfall south of the city. Because hurricanes spin counterclockwise, locations north of the storm are buffeted by easterly winds, which in this case push western waters further outward.

Meanwhile, south of downtown Milton, westerly winds are pushing water from the Gulf of Mexico further onshore. The cities of Fort Myers and Naples are currently reporting flood levels of approximately four feet.

National Hurricane Center warns of ‘life-threatening storm surge’