Milton, which has been raging in Florida for several hours, has weakened and is now a category 1 hurricane on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale. The element brings storms and extreme rainfall. More than 2 million Americans have no access to electricity. There is also the first information about fatalities.
Milton made landfall on Wednesday evening (local time) near Siesta Key on Florida's eastern 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. It is currently a hurricane of the lowest category.
Milton drew strength from the unusually warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, achieving Category 5 status twice. It had a maximum sustained wind speed of close to 330 km/h.
The element is currently located about 50 kilometers from Orlando, where the National Hurricane Center has issued a flash flood warning. According to CNN, more than 2 million Americans have no access to electricity.
St. County government Lucie reported that several people died as a result of the tornado.
– We are unable to determine how many residents died, but it is definitely more than one person – said Sheriff Keith Pearson.
The path of destruction
Milton is slowly moving towards the east coast at a speed of about 25 km/h, destroying everything in its path. Local officials are already reporting flooded roads, flying objects and significant damage to homes.
“We will know the true scale of destruction on Thursday, when the sun rises in the morning,” describes the American station CNN in its report.
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,” the hunter said storms 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 the average total for three months.
Airlines canceled about 1,900 flights on Wednesday. More than 60 percent of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg had no gasoline.
A series of tornadoes
Florida's governor announced that 19 tornadoes hit the state, destroying infrastructure in many counties and devastated 125 homes.
“At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you need to shelter in place and just hide,” Ron DeSantis said.
“We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel”
Some regions are already past the worst. This is the case, among others, of residents of Gulfport in Pinellas County. According to the city's mayor, Milton's wind gusts were the strongest he had ever seen in Florida.
– The worst is over, the wind is weakening, there are still strong gusts of wind, but we are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel – said Sam Henderson.
He added that most residents took hurricanes Debby and Helene, which hit the area earlier this year, as a warning sign and left the area this time.
What will happen next
According to the latest analysis from the National Hurricane Center (NHC), Milton will maintain its intensity as it passes through Florida on Thursday morning (local time). Later, after entering the Atlantic, it will probably gradually lose its tropical characteristics and slowly weaken.
Main photo source: NHC/NOAA, PAP/EPA/CRISTOBAL HERRERA-ULASHKEVICH