Live Updates: Hurricane Milton makes landfall over Florida
By Jordan FreimanTracy J. WholfCaitlin YilekMegan CerulloKerry BreenAlex SundbyKaia HubbardCara TabachnickAimee PicchiKate GibsonEmily Mae CzachorKathryn Watson,
7 hours ago
CBS News Miami Live
What to know about Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, Wednesday night.
The storm is on track to rake across the Florida peninsula after landfall and head into the Atlantic Ocean.
Maps show Milton is expected to flood parts of Florida's Gulf Coast with storm surge as high as 9 to 13 feet.
More than 1.5 million customers were without power in Florida on Wednesday night, according to utility tracker PowerOutage.us . More than 72,000 customers were without electricity in North Carolina, along with another 38,000 in Georgia.
Follow live updates below.
Tampa seeing 3 to 5 inches of rain per hour
The Tampa metropolitan area was seeing between three and five inches of rain per hour, Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, told CBS News Wednesday night after Hurricane Milton made landfall.
"To put that in context, because you might not be used to hearing those types of numbers, that's two and three times the normal rain rate, or speed, that rain would fall from just a traditional thunderstorm," Rhome explained. "And when rain falls that fast, that hard on an urban area, you almost get an instant flood, it has nowhere to go, you just get this instant flash flooding, and you're seeing that unfold all throughout the Tampa Bay area as we speak."
The National Hurricane Center said a flash flood emergency was in effect for the Tampa area at 10 p.m. ET.
Rhome said that the "shield of heavy rain" would move northeast along the Interstate 4 corridor overnight, also hitting Lakeland and Orlando.
"It is absolutely unsafe to be out of your house and driving in those conditions," Rhome said.
Rhome expected the I-4 corridor to see "catastrophic flooding" as a result, and emphasized that Milton would remain a hurricane as it traverses the Florida peninsula.
"And you on the Florida east coast, if you think you're out of the woods, this is a Florida west coast problem, no, you're going to have hurricane-force winds all the way over on the Florida east coast," Rhome said.
Injuries reported, homes damaged in Martin County, Florida
Several injuries, both serious and minor, have been reported in Martin County, Florida, as a result of Hurricane Milton. No fatalities had been reported as of Wednesday night, Martin County Fire Rescue said.
Martin County Fire Rescue also said it estimated dozens of homes had been damaged, "some severely," by the storm.
Martin County is located on Florida's east coast, north of Palm Beach.
Fort Myers neighborhood sees heavy damage from suspected tornado
A suspected tornado touched down in Fort Myers, Florida, on Wednesday ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall later Wednesday night, one of several which were believed to have touched down statewide, CBS News correspondent Nicole Valdes reports.
A doorbell camera captured footage of the damage as it whipped through palm trees in the neighborhood and ripped off the roof of a home. The extent of the damage was still unknown. It was unclear if there were any injuries.
More than 100 tornado warnings blared across the state earlier in the day. In the southeastern Florida county of St. Lucie, there were "multiple reports of tornadoes touching down," county spokesperson Erick Gill told CBS News by email Wednesday evening.
Fort Myers Mayor Kevin Anderson feared the worst for those still in the city Wednesday night.
"I'm praying for their safety, and I hope they survive," Anderson told CBS News.
All the debris from both Hurricane Helene and the suspected tornadoes could put even inland communities at risk of even more damage as powerful winds from Milton are expected to continue well into Thursday.
FEMA chief says its Disaster Relief Fund depleted by Helene response
Federal Emergency Management Administrator Deanne Criswell indicated in a briefing Wednesday that the agency's Disaster Relief Fund could face a funding crisis.
Criswell said the agency currently has about $9 billion in its coffers after it spent about $11 billion responding to Hurricane Helene.
"I'm going to have to evaluate how quickly we're burning the remaining dollars within the Disaster Relief Fund, to see if I'm going to have to go back in and ask for additional funding sooner than what Congress is planning on right now."
CBS News congressional correspondent Scott MacFarlane reports that, according to congressional sources, FEMA could receive enough funding to respond to both Helene and Milton in the near term, but the agency may have to pull back on other long-term response efforts from previous emergencies in other parts of the country.
MacFarlane also reports that the Small Business Administration, which provides disaster loans to homeowners and small businesses, could also run out of money before Congress reconvenes after the November election.
Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night near Siesta Key, Florida, the National Hurricane Center said.
Milton had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph when it made landfall, making it a "dangerous Category 3 storm," the center said.
Siesta Key is a barrier island located just south of Sarasota.
Former hurricane hunter says Milton will do "unprecedented damage" despite weakening
Jeff Masters, a scientist who formerly worked with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hurricane hunters, told CBS News that Milton is "going to do unprecedented damage in this part of Florida" despite the fact that its winds have weakened from Category 5 to Category 3.
"Some of the biggest catastrophes in hurricane history were from weakening storms," Masters said. "Katrina was weakening as it was approaching the shore and it caused $190 billion in damage. It was a Cat 3 at landfall and it was formerly a Cat 5. Well, here we have another former Cat 5 that's going to be a Cat 3 at landfall, and the storm surge is baked in. It's going to come ashore, it's going to be 8 to 13 feet [of storm surge] along an 80-mile stretch along a very heavily populated coast."
DeSantis says Florida is "absolutely" ready for Hurricane Milton
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis told CBS News Wednesday evening that state authorities are "absolutely" prepared for the arrival of Hurricane Milton.
"We've got 50,000 linemen staged, ready for rapid power restoration," DeSantis said. "We also have a full mobilization of the Florida National Guard, as well as receiving a lot of assets from other states, so it will be the largest search and rescue function that we've ever done."
The governor said that "by and large, people heeded the call" to evacuate.
He said the state's shelters have "plenty of room," noting that they are designed to withstand a Category 3 storm.
"Look, at this point, if you're in the west coast of Florida, it's probably too dangerous to go to a shelter," DeSantis said. "But one of the things we've done in Florida is stress that, when you shelter, you don't have to get on the interstate and drive hundreds of miles. We have places, even in the counties that are in the eye of the storm, that are inland, that are not susceptible to storm surge, but that are hurricane-proof."
DeSantis also addressed misinformation that has circulated online about relief efforts for both hurricanes Milton and Helene, calling it "nonsense."
"I think there's some people out there, we live in an age where you can monetize a lot of this nonsense online," DeSantis said. "You can get a lot of clicks, but that is not true in Florida. So, we're going to do it right, your property is going to be protected. And we're going to make sure that you get back on your feet."
Sarasota, St. Petersburg officials warn residents to stay indoors
County officials in Sarasota and in the city of St. Petersburg took to social media Wednesday afternoon to warn residents to stay indoors and take precautions as storm conditions intensify.
"It is no longer safe to be on the roadways. Individuals SHOULD NOT go out on the roadways. They should now SHELTER IN PLACE," the Sarasota County Government posted on the social media platform X . "There are reports of flooding and it is not safe to be out on the road for the duration of the storm."
In the city of St. Petersburg, first responder operations have been paused. "For the safety of our police, fire, and medical teams, they will not be able to respond to emergency calls until it is safe to operate," the city said on X . "Please stay indoors, take shelter, and call 911 only in case of emergencies. We'll resume operations as soon as weather conditions allow."
The city also made the decision to shut down water treatment plants and urged residents to limit water use.
"The City of St. Petersburg made the difficult decision to turn off power at the Northeast and Southwest Sewer Treatment Plants to protect employees and the treatment plants from potential storm surge from Hurricane Milton," the city said . "Starting at 7 p.m., impacted residents/businesses are encouraged to limit water usage. Please avoid taking showers, doing laundry, or washing dishes as much as possible. Please flush toilets only as necessary as the toilet may not drain."
In Manatee County, which includes the city of Bradenton, officials also suspended emergency services. "911 emergency calls will be logged and queued based on priority and will be responded to as soon as safe to do so," the county said on X .
What time will Hurricane Milton make landfall?
CBS News meteorologist Nikki Nolan says Milton is currently forecast to make landfall between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m. ET Wednesday night, if the storm's directional speed remains the same. Milton is expected to be a Category 3 at landfall, and had wind speeds of 120 mph as of the most recent update from the National Hurricane Center.
Milton's northern eyewall begins moving ashore
The northern eyewall of Hurricane Milton began moving ashore around 7 p.m. ET Wednesday, the National Hurricane Center said .
The center warned those in the Tampa and St. Petersburg areas to shelter in place as "extremely dangerous hurricane-force winds" were spreading through the area.
Hurricane Milton power outages map
This map shows what parts of Florida are experiencing power outages, according to Find Energy .
How a Tampa zoo prepared for the hurricane
While many residents evacuated, staff at ZooTampa at Lowry Park made preparations to ride out the storm with the zoo's residents.
ZooTampa's Tiffany Burns, senior director of animal programs, told CBS News that preparations for the zoo's animals started days ago and about 12 staff members are ready to stay with their charges.
"We have a very comprehensive plan that we check all throughout the year and after we go through a storm, we modify and make sure we learn from each storm," she said.
Of the zoo's approximately 1,000 animals, about 300-400 were moved into secure buildings on the zoo site, she said. For a lot of the primates, carnivores and elephants, the buildings are the same ones they're in each night — their "night houses," she said, part of the habitats that were built to be hurricane-safe.
But for animals like birds, skunks and some antelope species, "that can be very different," she said. Some, like porcupines, will be in the night houses with the larger animals who aren't used to seeing them.
"It'll be a little bit of an adventure for everyone," she said.
How to send texts via satellite when cell service is down
As Hurricane Milton advances on Florida, many iPhone users in the state will have an option for staying connected with loved ones even if the monster storm takes down cell service in the region.
Apple's recently introduced mobile operating system , iOS 18, lets iPhone customers send text messages via satellite, as well as contact emergency services, without a Wi-Fi connection. You need an iPhone 14 or newer model equipped with iOS 18 to use the feature, according to Apple.
Biden assures Florida residents, "We've got your back"
President Biden spoke about Hurricane Milton ahead of its expected landfall and assured Florida residents and others who have been impacted by the recent storms, "We've got your back." He said his administration would offer support "for as long as it takes to rescue, recover and rebuild."
Mr. Biden said Milton is expected to be "one of the most and worst destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in over a century," despite being downgraded to a Category 3 storm.
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