The death toll from Hurricane Milton has risen to 15 as it battered Florida, according to ABC, bringing tornadoes, flooding and massive damage, forcing many people to flee their homes.
The Tampa area, which is home to more than 3.3 million people and was in the eye of the hurricane, escaped the worst-case scenario of being submerged under 5 meters of water. It was a significant storm, but not “the worst” we expected, Florida’s governor said.
Record tornadoes
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the barrage of tornadoes is proving more deadly. Within 10 hours, Milton weakened from a “red” Category 5 to a Category 1 storm, with maximum sustained winds of 125 to 95 miles per hour.
“It’s definitely out of the ordinary,” said Northern Illinois University meteorology professor Victor Gencini. “Hurricanes produce tornadoes, but they are usually weak,” he said.
Multiple tornadoes have been spotted in South Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival ashore. The National Hurricane Center says Milton was “growing in size” as it approached the coast. It said “life threatening storm surge” and “damaging winds” were both still expected. pic.twitter.com/R6bM3zQugp
— The Associated Press (@AP) October 9, 2024
Images of leveling from Hurricane Milton
Record rainfall was recorded in the Sarasota, Siesta Key and Plant City areas. “We have flooding in places and at levels I’ve never seen,” said a Plant City resident.
#Milton Horrifying visuals 😰, I wish there isn’t any casualities 😭🙏🏻 This is what the Avenir neighborhood in Palm Beach Gardens looked like after one of the tornadoes associated with Hurricane Milton. Disasters ! #HurricanMilton #Florida pic.twitter.com/X2iyTjSKWS
— 🔥Yuvrani❄️ (@DD_Darls) October 10, 2024
Fort Pierce, on the Atlantic coast, is on alert after dozens of homes have been leveled and at least five people have died from tornadoes, according to the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office. Lucie.
The roof of the famous Tropicana Field baseball stadium was blown away by the fury of the winds.
Now that the sun is up, here’s a 360-degree view of the damage Hurricane Milton caused to Tropicana Field’s roof and the inside of the ballpark. Absolutely heartbreaking 💔 pic.twitter.com/ZCtPHv6rE9
— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) October 10, 2024
Hurricane Milton left three million homes and businesses without power. In 46 1/2 hours, a tropical storm with winds of speed became a hurricane with a force of 205 kilometers per hour, experts point out.
The White House, and Joe Biden personally, responded to Donald Trump that claims that federal aid is limited to $750 per person are false, clarifying that this is only to pay for basic supplies such as food, diapers and infant formula.
Drone video captures devastation from Hurricane Milton in Grove City and Manasota Key, Florida. pic.twitter.com/Wu8i1FlaOF
— AccuWeather (@accuweather) October 10, 2024
Strong winds also toppled a large construction crane in St. Petersburg, the machine crashing to the ground on a deserted street.
Alligators on the streets
Shocking image after Florida residents caught up in Hurricane Milton opened their car door to find an alligator trying to bite the tire.
Wildlife experts have warned that animals can be affected by the storms and driven into residential areas, disoriented and become more aggressive from stress.
Greeks describe the horror
It was a nightmarish night for the large community of Greeks in Florida, many of whom did not leave their homes, stayed inside and waited for the monster hurricane to pass.
Their descriptions in MEGA, about what they experienced inside their homes, many times without electricity, with the winds sweeping everything and the rain water rising menacingly, are chilling.
Most of them left their homes. Those who stayed behind shielded doors and windows.
“There were 12 tornadoes if I heard correctly in our area here. There were some disasters. A tornado hit 16 people were taken to the hospital and I heard there is someone or someone dead. Houses were destroyed, I saw a gas station, which is completely destroyed, and I saw a truck on the highway that overturned,” said St. Lucie resident Theodoris Sarandos.
With the first light of day, the picture is heartbreaking. Roads submerged in water, overturned cars, broken roofs, uprooted trees.
“Right now if you were here you could almost hear the house rumbling, that is, the winds are very strong. There is a deluge of the Lord outside. I dare not even open a window,” said Aria Sokratous, vice president of the Florida Panhellenic Federation.
Many areas near the sea had been plunged into darkness hours before the deadly typhoon’s passage.
“It’s 8:20 PM in Clearwater, Florida. We are currently out of power. The winds are very strong, reaching 80km/h. We have too much warning to stay at home, not to go out,” says Christiana, a resident of Florida.
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