Milton moves across Florida. “We are unable to determine how many residents died”

According to information from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), on Thursday at 2 p.m. local time (when it was evening in Poland), the front of the element was located 320 kilometers northeast of Cape Canaveral in Florida. The average wind speed reached 120 kilometers per hour. Milton has now weakened and become a post-tropical cyclone. However, the effects of the hazardous weather are still being felt in parts of Southeast Florida.

Milton made landfall on Wednesday evening (local time) near Siesta Key on Florida's west coast. At the time of impact, the hurricane had winds of over 195 km/h, which corresponded to category three on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale.

The element drew strength from the unusually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, achieving category five status twice. It had a maximum sustained wind speed of close to 330 km/h.

As CNN reported on Thursday, at least nine people died as a result of Hurricane Milton. However, Florida authorities expect more victims.

Five people died in St. County. Lucie after the tornadoes. According to an analysis by the station that checked warnings from the National Weather Service (NWS), at least nine such phenomena were recorded in the region on Wednesday, including three in less than 25 minutes.

The first tornado occurred just before 12:30 p.m. local time. At least 20 tornado warnings were issued in the county over the next five hours. Most warnings talk about the potential for this phenomenon to occur, not that it is actually on the ground, the station notes.

As journalists describe, the most “crazy” time slot was from 16.44 to 17/10, when three tornadoes appeared within about 25 minutes. It is unclear whether the three tornadoes were moving through the county simultaneously.

Number volstorms and their strength cannot be confirmed until teams of experts examining storm damage arrive in affected areas.

According to County Sheriff Keith Pearson, buildings and even large structures where the county's emergency response equipment was stored were significantly damaged. More than 100 houses were damaged, some completely.

St. County Sheriff Lucie Keith Pearson previously gave an interview to CNN in which he stated that the tornado hit a modular housing estate with residents aged 55 and over.

– Their entire houses, with them inside, were lifted, moved, destroyed. “I mean, everything that was in the path of the hurricane or that tornado was gone,” the sheriff said.

Currently, Pearson and his office are focusing on emergency operations. So far, 25 people have been rescued.

“Yesterday was a historic and tragic day for the Treasure Coast region, which was hit by one of the worst tornadoes in modern history,” Ryan Lloyd, deputy director of the Indian River County Department of Emergency Services, said at a news conference Thursday. The Treasure Coast includes Indian River, Martin and St. Counties. Lucie.

Four confirmed tornadoes touched down in the Indian River County area, Lloyd said. Two people were injured, but did not suffer serious injuries.

Power lines are down across the county, especially on the beach side. Several bridges remained closed due to damage and downed lines, Indian River County Sheriff Eric Flowers said. There were also floods.

“We encourage people to stay home today,” Flowers said.

Bob Slicker's restaurant, located in Bradenton, Florida, was significantly damaged during Hurricane Helene. The man had to put rebuilding on hold to prepare for Hurricane Milton.

The owner told CNN his restaurant was able to withstand the last one stormbut the building suffered external damage. He added that he was about five kilometers from the eye of the element.

– I have never been inside something so loud and terrifying in my life, which – as he reported – lasted for many hours. The man also said that there were fallen trees, roofs of houses and caravans on the roads.

Across the United States, 3.2 million residents do not have access to electricity. The worst situation is in the Tampa Bay area in western Florida, where 70 percent of customers are without electricity.

“We have an unprecedented number of customers without power,” said Archie Collins, president and CEO of Tampa Electric. He added that at the moment it is difficult to accurately estimate the scale of damage to the electrical network because the weather prevents the services from intervening. “These were the strongest winds we believe have hit Hillsborough County in anyone's memory,” Collins said.

According to the president of Tampa Electric, Milton is the worst hurricane in terms of damage to the electrical grid.

Authorities in Pasco County, Florida, north of Tampa, reported that 22 people have so far been rescued from flooding caused by the disaster.

Authorities in the counties that Milton has left are urging residents to stay at home. There is still a risk of flash flooding in Tampa Bay, where the hurricane first hit.

– It's not over yet, said the mayor of Tampa.

Jane Coster warned of a rising tide that will likely flood all of Hillsborough County.

Pinellas County authorities also issued a stern warning to its residents.

“Stay where you are. Many roads are not safe,” we read in the message.

Residents of St. County Lucie described that tornadoes carried by Milton devastated and tore apart nearby houses one by one.

“It looked like someone dropped a weight from the sky and it crushed several houses,” said a resident of Lakewood Park in St. County. Lucie.

In Saint Petersburg, storms damaged the roof of the Tropicana Field baseball stadium, where the Tampa Bay Rays play their games.

“It's one of the most surreal things ever,” said storm chaser Jonathan Petramala.

In the same city, the wind also collapsed a tower crane onto one of the buildings.

Milton is also bringing one of the heaviest waves of rainfall to the region in many years. In some cities in Florida, as much rain fell in a dozen or so hours as approximately the average rainfall for three months.

Airlines canceled more than 2,200 flights on Wednesday. More than 60 percent of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg had no gasoline.

Florida's governor announced that 19 tornadoes hit the state, destroying infrastructure in many counties and devastated 125 homes.

“It's too dangerous to evacuate at this point, so you need to shelter in place and just hide,” Ron DeSantis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday that the area around Tampa Bay avoided the most catastrophic effects of the storm surge because Milton “veered south” before making landfall.

“We can say that the storm was significant, but fortunately it was not the worst-case scenario,” he added.