Even before Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida Wednesday evening, it had already spawned numerous tornadoes that led to multiple deaths on the state’s east coast.
The damage didn’t stop as the Category 3 storm made landfall on Siesta Key in Sarasota County, where it brought at least 10 feet of storm surge and brutal winds that tore off the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, home of the Tampa Bay Rays.
Nearly 3.38 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power late Thursday morning, almost 29% of the state. Gov. Ron DeSantis said an unprecedented force of 50,000 linemen from as far away as California were helping to restore electricity as the state recovers.
"The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst case scenario," Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a briefing Thursday.
Tornadoes were reported in Palm Beach, Broward, St. Lucie and Brevard counties, and more than 100 tornado warnings were issued while Milton hovered over the state. Images of ripped up roofs and turned over vehicles showing the aftermath of the twisters circulated on social media.
Here's a look at Milton's wrath in communities across the Sunshine State:
Sarasota
Milton brought 8-10 feet of storm surge to Sarasota, making landfall at Siesta Key and destroying more than 100 homes in the area, downing trees and power lines. There were more than 227,000 customers in Sarasota County without power Thursday morning, about 76% of the county. Roads and bridges to Siesta Key, a barrier island, were still closed to the public Thursday morning.
Tampa/St. Petersburg
Milton’s winds damaged homes and businesses in Tampa, but the city was spared the worst of the storm surge. There remain 521,000 customers without power in Hillsborough County, about 75% of the county.
Across Tampa Bay in Pinellas County, however, winds tore the roof off Tropicana Field, and a construction crane slammed into the building of the Tampa Bay Times newspaper. More than 427,000 customers there are without power, about 74% of the county.
Two people were also killed in St. Petersburg.In a press conference Thursday morning,Police Chief Anthony Holloway said one death was a medical issue and the other was a person found in a park. "Two people lost their loved ones," he said.
Lee County and Fort Myers
Flooded roads and harsh winds hit Lee County in Southwest Florida, but the main damage came from tornadoes.
A tornado touched down in North Fort Myersin Lee County around 1 p.m. Wednesday, causing extensive damage across Fort Myers, Cape Coral and Lee County.
According toNOAA's Storm Prediction Center:
- The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported tornado damage in Matlacha.
- Social media video and images showing tornado damage to homes near Colonial Boulevard and Orangewood Avenue.
- Social media videos of tornado and damage near the southeast area of Fort Myers Country Club.
Lee County Sheriff’s Office deputies assessing the area reported no deaths within their jurisdiction by late Thursday, and Sheriff Carmine Marceno said in a NewsNation interview that Lee was in "good shape."
Naples and Collier County
A significant difference from 2022's Hurricane Ian, there were no reports of serious injuries, according to the Collier County Sheriff's Office, but well-being checks continued throughout the day. While homes did flood, deputies had not seen "catastrophic" damage, according to a sheriff's statement. Still, spots like waterfront mall Tin City announced it would beclosed until further noticedue to Milton's impact, and Naples Police reported Thursday that Old Naples, west of Second Street was mostly impassable.
The historic Naples Pier remained blocked off near the restrooms with two Naples Police officers on the deck. Like many agencies, the sheriff's office implored residents to stay off the roads while assessments continued, including Vanderbilt Beach, which again had substantial flooding. As crews worked to fix traffic lights, Naples lifted its curfew and asked motorists to avoid roads west and south of U.S. 41.
Treasure Coast cities
Five people died following suspected tornadoes Wednesday afternoon that ripped through a community in St. Lucie County, according to officials.
Dozens of homeswere damaged and four were confirmed dead among theSpanish Lakes Country Club Village, Indian River Estates and Lakewood Park communities in the northern part of Fort Pierce after the suspected tornado touched down around 5 p.m.
"It looked like someone had dropped a weight from the sky and flattened a bunch of houses," said Doug Anderson, a Lakewood Park resident. Sheriff's deputies moved people injured to a makeshift medical triage center at the Spanish Lakes clubhouse.
"One of the last houses I went to looked like it had been ripped in half," Anderson said. "The people were out front crying."
- A suspected tornado ripped up a steel storage building outside the St. Lucie County Sheriff's headquarters. A video posted on the office's Facebook page showed the mangled building.
- Two suspected tornadoes caused damages and more than of 9 inches of rain fell throughout the Vero Beach area. No fatalities were reported.
- In Martin County, U.S. 1 in Port Salerno closed Wednesday after a suspected tornado caused significant damage to buildings, trees, light poles and power lines. Martin County Fire Rescue posted on X: "It’s estimated that dozens of homes have been damaged, some severely." No fatalities were reported as of Thursday morning.
Daytona Beach and Volusia County
Radar-estimated rain totals for Volusia County over a 48-hour span ranged from 6 inches across much of the county to as much as 12 or more inches in southeastern portions, from east of DeLand through New Smyrna Beach and Port Orange.
In Edgewater, a city hard-hit by flooding even before Milton’s arrival, radar estimates reflect rain totals of 8-10 inches. Sustained strong tropical storm winds of 60-plus mph were recorded at Daytona Beach International Airport, with an 87 mph gust recorded at around 4:30 a.m.
The St. Johns River at Astor, now at major flood stage, was expected to be near record flood levels by Thursday afternoon and into the weekend. Additional locations upstream on the St. Johns were also likely to experience rises to moderate to major flood stage over the next several days.
Volusia County confirmed two storm-related deaths caused by trees falling on homes. Andrew Gant, a public information officer for the Volusia County Sheriff's Office, said the victims were a 79-year-old woman in Ormond Beach and a 54-year-old woman in Port Orange.
Ocala, Marion and Lake counties
Marion County and north Lake County had trees down, some roads blocked or flooded, and lots of power outages. As of 12:45 p.m. Thursday there were 68,000 customers without power in Marion, which is 23 % of all customers. In Lake, more than 107,000 customers (52% of all customers) did not have electricity.
Melbourne
Milton was a Category 1 hurricane when it reached Brevard County in the early hours Thursday, causing extreme winds, vast power outages and flooding throughout the Space Coast.
The storm gouged a 30-foot-hole in the ceiling of the Melbourne Orlando International Airport when a large portion of the ceiling skylight crashed to the floor of the terminal at around 2 a.m. No one was injured in the incident.
A probable tornado touched down in Cocoa Beach on Wednesday, destroying several homes and buildings. The roof of a Wells Fargo was blown off, a Supercuts was destroyed and the mayor's home also sustained damage.
Jacksonville, St. Johns and St. Augustine
Jacksonville was largely spared the worst of the storm.
Waves of water were shoved into historic St. Augustine and brought major flooding to parts of St. Johns County while knocking out power to tens of thousands of homes and businesses across Northeast Florida.
As of Thursday morning, flash flooding remained a risk in St. Johns, Flagler, Putnam and Marion counties. Flooding forced the evacuation of a hotel in Grant. Streets were underwater from Satellite Beach to Rockledge.
St. Johns County Fire Rescue Division teams went door-to-door in the Flagler Estates community in the area of East Deep Creek and West Deep Creek to offer assistance to residents.
"The river is still rising," department spokesman Chris Naff said Thursday morning. "The water is getting high."
Palm Beach County
Milton spawned tornadoes that destroyed and damaged homes in Wellington, western Palm Beach Gardens, Loxahatchee, The Acreage and possibly Jupiter Farms. Firefighters found and rescued multiple people from damaged homes and cars, some trapped under rubble. Firefighters rescued one person from an overturned RV.
Fire-rescue transported five patients, including three trauma patients, to hospitals and treated many more walk-up patients with minor injuries. Officials reported that some vehicles were picked up and moved. Also, tens of thousands of people across the county awoke without power.
The city of Riviera Beach, just north of West Palm Beach, reported that several railroad crossings "have been compromised."
Reporters from around the USA TODAY NETWORK – Florida contributed. Gray Rohreris with the USA TODAY Network-Florida Capital Bureau. He can be reached atgrohrer@gannett.com. Follow him on X:@GrayRohrer.
