Deadly Milton leaves Florida with flooding and damage in its wake. CNN NEWS
What we’re covering here”
• Milton slams Florida: Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm and weakened to a Category 1 as it cut through the state and moved offshore, according to the National Hurricane Center. You can track Milton’s path with CNN’s storm tracker.
• Deadly impact: At least nine people have died in Milton’s path of destruction through Florida, according to local officials. The toll includes five people killed by tornadoes spawned by the storm in St. Lucie County. The state is anticipating more casualties, Gov. Ron DeSantis has said.
• A thousand-year flood: Milton dropped more than 18 inches of rain on St. Petersburg, representing a more than a 1-in-1000 year rainfall event for the area.
• Power outages and destructive wind: Milton, the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, has knocked out power for more than 3 million people in the state. Wind gusts of 100 mph were recorded near Tampa. Milton ripped off the roof of Tropicana Field, which was set to be a makeshift shelter for first responders.
• Affected by Milton? Bookmark CNN’s lite site for fast connectivity. Sigue nuestra cobertura del huracán en español.
Deadly Milton leaves Florida with flooding and damage in its wake. CNN NEWS
Florida is assessing the damage from Milton. Here’s what to know
From CNN staff
Milton — now considered a post-tropical cyclone — has moved offshore after making landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, as a dangerous Category 3 storm and weakening to a Category 1 as it cut through the state, according to the National Hurricane Center.
The death toll from the hurricane has risen to 9 people, with fatalities reported in St. Lucie County, Citrus County, Ormond Beach and St. Petersburg.
Here how some areas were affected and the issues that authorities are trying to address:
• Flooding and cleanup efforts: A Fort Myers neighborhood is being cleaned up after a tornado struck the area on Wednesday. The roof of several homes and fences near Lee County’s Page Field Airport were torn apart as Hurricane Milton moved through southwest Florida. Meanwhile, in St. Petersburg, a construction crane that toppled from a high rise crashed into a building as Hurricane Milton made landfall, new CNN drone footage shows. Parts of the crane remain embedded in the side of the building and debris and metal litter the street. Residents said the collapse sounded like a “train wreck.”
• Multiple tornadoes in St. Lucie County: Buildings, homes, and even a large structure containing critical county emergency response equipment were significantly damaged, according to the county sheriff. “Well over 100 homes” were damaged in the passing storm, St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said. “I’m not just talking about a broken window or a couple of shingles — I’m talking about total loss houses.”
• Power outages: Power has been restored to about 700,000 customers so far, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said. About 3.2 million customers remained without power as of early Thursday afternoon, according to PowerOutage.us.
• Gas situation: As of 10:30 a.m. ET, 24.8% of the gas stations across the state were dry, GasBuddy said. That’s little changed from the last update at 7 p.m. ET on Wednesday before Hurricane Milton made landfall. Gas station outages are much higher in some of the hardest-hit areas: 63% of the gas stations in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area had no fuel as of 10:30 a.m. ET, and 44% in Sarasota were dry, according to GasBuddy.
Boil water notice in St. Petersburg: Officials issued a boil water notice for residents after Milton caused major water main breaks, disrupting drinking water access in the city. The notice includes residents in St. Petersburg, Gulfport, South Pasadena and Lealman. The city said boiled or bottled water should be used for activities including drinking, cooking, brushing teeth or cleaning. According to the CDC, water should be brought to a full rolling boil for 1 minute and allowed to cool before use. Crews are making repairs Thursday and drinking water access has been restored, but pressure may still be low, the city said.
Rescue operations: Torrential rainfall — not storm surges — flooded parts of Hillsborough County. Officials deployed three amphibious vehicles to carry out rescue operations at an assisted living facility and at a hotel where elderly people had sought shelter, Sheriff Chad Chronister said. The department helped rescue 135 elderly and disabled people earlier that had been evacuated from Bradenton for safety, he added. The first floors of apartment buildings in the county are underwater and cars are submerged on the street. Pinellas County also bore the brunt of wind and rain. Milton ripped off the roof of Tropicana Field, Tampa Bay Rays’ baseball stadium, which was set to be a makeshift shelter for first responders. Some parts of the county received 17 inches of rain, according to Pinellas County Commissioner Brian Scott.
Deadly Milton leaves Florida with flooding and damage in its wake. CNN NEWS
Rescue of 14-year-old boy was “like a scene from the ‘Castaway’ movie,” sheriff says
From CNN’s Caroline Jaime and Christina Zdanowicz
A rescue crew found a 14-year-old boy clinging to a piece of fence, frantically waving them down Thursday morning, Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister said in an interview with CNN’s Boris Sanchez.
“We went over, and it literally was like a scene from the ‘Castaway’ movie, how he’s hanging on for dear life,” said Chronister, who was aboard the airboat during the rescue.
The boy’s mother had evacuated the family to safety, but the boy was walking home and did not realize that the water was going to get as deep as it did, the sheriff said.
“He was visibly shaken,” Chronister said. “He hugged us. He was just so grateful we took him to dry land.”
Context: This is just one of the more than 200 rescues Hillsborough emergency responders have conducted so far today. Crews continue to perform rescues, Chronister said.