Live Updates: Hurricane Milton leaves deadly trail of destruction in Florida

What to know about Hurricane Milton

• Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm.
• At least 10 people died from the storm, officials confirmed to CBS News.
  
• Milton moved across the Florida peninsula Thursday and over the Atlantic Ocean.
• Maps show Milton could still flood parts of Florida's Gulf Coast with storm surge as high as 3 to 5 feet.
• More than 3 million customers were without power in Florida on Thursday, according to utility tracker Find Energy .

• Follow live updates below.

Milton storm surge peaked at 5-10 feet, preliminary analysis finds

The storm surge from Hurricane Milton peaked at 5-10 feet above ground level from Siesta Key to Fort Myers Beach, Florida, according to a preliminary analysis from the National Hurricane Center.

While the center noted a more detailed analysis would follow, earlier predictions had warned the surge could rise as high as 15 feet in the Tampa Bay area.

Biden calls on Congress to "move as rapidly" as it can on hurricane emergency funding

President Biden called on lawmakers Thursday to "move as rapidly as they can" on emergency funding for hurricanes in the wake of Milton and Helene. He singled out assistance for small businesses in particular because he said the disaster relief fund for loans for these businesses is running precariously low.

The president said he hasn't spoken with House Speaker Mike Johnson or asked him to bring Congress back before Election Day. Johnson said Wednesday in North Carolina — a state badly hit by Hurricane Helene — that FEMA and the administration "have the resources necessary right now to address the immediate needs."

Read more here .

At least 340 rescued after Hurricane Milton, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis gave an update on Hurricane Milton rescue and recovery efforts Thursday afternoon and said so far, 340 people and 49 pets have been rescued since the storm's landfall Wednesday night.

He also said inland flooding caused by the storm has blocked key roadways in central and northern parts of the state, and energy companies are working to restore power to the estimated 3 million residents in the dark.

Watch his news conference in the video below:

Photos show damage from Hurricane Milton

As Hurricane Milton tore through Florida, it ripped up homes, knocked over signs and trees and caused flooding in parts of the state. Flood waters inundated a neighborhood in Punta Gorda and smashed and capsized boats in its marina.

In the city of St. Petersburg, a construction crane collapsed onto a building, leaving a gaping hole.

The Tampa Bay Rays' home stadium, Tropicana Field, had its dome torn open by hurricane-force winds.

Walt Disney World Resort, which shut down in preparation for Milton, said on Thursday the park had "weathered the storm" and would reopen Friday.

Read more here .

Florida resident "Lieutenant Dan" recounts riding out Hurricane Milton on his sailboat

Joseph Malinowski, a 54-year-old Tampa resident known locally as "Lieutenant Dan," weathered Hurricane Milton aboard his small sailboat in Tampa Bay. His refusal to evacuate went viral on social media as he said he wouldn't leave his boat.

Malinowski told CBS News he was unfazed, describing the experience as "pretty mellow," even though his boat was repeatedly slammed against a harbor wall during the worst of the storm.

"I'm not scared of anything," Malinowski said, after staying through Helene and Milton. If another hurricane strikes, his plans remain the same: "I'm going to stay on the boat, no matter what," Malinowski said.

Read more here.

By Analisa Novak, Cristian Benavides

Driver dies in central Florida after falling tree hit his car

A 46-year-old man from Inverness, a city around 75 miles north of Tampa, died overnight after a falling tree collided with his car while he was driving, a spokesperson for the Florida Highway Patrol told CBS News. The driver's death is the first one confirmed in Citrus County, Florida, tied to Hurricane Milton.

Sgt. Steve Gaskins, the Highway Patrol spokesperson, said in an email that the man was driving east near a wildlife preserve at around 1:30 a.m. when his vehicle collided with a falling tree.

The man "suffered fatal injuries at the scene of the crash," Gaskins said. He told CBS News a medical examiner will determine a cause of death for the driver, who was not identified.

Milton becomes a post-tropical cyclone

Milton became a post-tropical cyclone Thursday as it traveled farther out over the Atlantic Ocean, on a path that should see it pass north of the Bahamas on Thursday afternoon.

The storm is gradually weakening and, as of 2 p.m. EDT, had maximum sustained winds of 75 mph, just above the 74 mph threshold to be considered hurricane-force, according to the National Hurricane Center. It continues to fuel tropical-storm conditions and storm surge along parts of the southeastern U.S. coast.

Hurricane-force winds extended outward up to 70 miles from Milton's center, and tropical storm-force winds extended up to 310 miles from the center, forecasters said.

4 storm-related deaths confirmed in Volusia County

Four people died in Volusia County as a result of Hurricane Milton, a spokesperson for the local medical examiner's office told CBS News.

Located along the coast some 50 miles from Orlando, Volusia County includes cities like Daytona Beach. The region experienced powerful winds, heavy rain and inundation from floodwaters as Milton tracked eastward, in addition to surf conditions and storm surge that forecasters with the National Weather Service described as "extremely dangerous" and "life-threatening."

Karla Orozco, operations manager at the medical examiner's office in Daytona, said the office has had four Milton-related deaths in an email Thursday afternoon. Orozco did not provide details about the incidents.

"Still very dangerous conditions" in Florida, Biden says

President Biden urged Floridians to wait to hear from their local leaders before going out into Hurricane Milton's aftermath.

"There are still very dangerous conditions in the state, and people should wait to be given the all-clear by their leaders before they go out," Mr. Biden said. "We know from previous hurricanes that it's often the case that more lives are lost in the days following the storm than actually during the storm itself."

2 confirmed dead in St. Petersburg

Two people in St. Petersburg were confirmed dead after Milton ripped through the city.

St. Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway said one of the deceased was found dead in a park, and the medical examiner has not yet ruled on a cause of death.

Holloway characterized the other death as medical. He did not share details about the nature or circumstances surrounding either incident when he announced them during a news conference Thursday morning. The police chief also did not reveal the identities of those who died.

"We did lose two people during this storm," Holloway said. "Two people lost their loved ones."

Four people were previously confirmed dead in southeastern Florida's St. Lucie County, where a dozen tornadoes linked to Milton developed Wednesday, officials said.

"It's heartbreaking to see"

A Florida congressman said the damage in his district from back-to-back hurricanes was heartbreaking.

"The heartbreaking thing about this for my district is we were literally recovering from Hurricane Helene," Congressman Greg Steube said on "CBS Mornings." "I was going and touring businesses that were ripping out drywall – I helped a family rip out drywall who were just flooded a little over a week ago -- and those same areas got flooded again, Punta Gorda got flooded again, so those businesses and homes that were trying to rebound from Hurricane Helene just got flooded again, and it's heartbreaking to see that."

Steube said his own home was in the eye of the storm.

"We got the worst of the wind," he said. "The eye went over my house, so it was blowing at 100 miles an hour north, and then you get to the eye, and then as the eye passes, it was blowing to 100 miles an hour to the south, so Sarasota probably got the highest wind damages."

Dog rescued from Milton rubble

A dog was rescued Thursday morning from the rubble of a home hit by a tornado at a 55-and-older retirement community with some help from a CBS News Miami crew.

A resident found the dog at the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village retirement community near Fort Piece.

CBS News Miami reporter Morgan Rynor was on the scene while appearing live on "CBS Mornings."

"I cannot believe I am starting this right now with some happy news," Rynor said during the segment.

Read more here .

Power company focused on restoring electricity to critical facilities, executive says

Millions across Florida were still without power Thursday afternoon, according to the utility tracker Find Energy .

Many of the customers experiencing outages live in places that sustained serious damage from Milton, like Tampa Bay and Sarasota. Several of those counties, including Hillsborough, Pinellas and Manatee, were reporting around 75% or more of their individual energy customers didn't have electricity.

Melissa Seixas, Duke Energy's Florida president, told "CBS Mornings" the company will prioritize critical facilities as it works to restore the electrical grid for the region.

"We have damage assessment underway. We are using people on the ground. We're using drones, helicopters," Seixas said. "We are also actively restoring with a focus on critical care facilities, and other critical facilities like hospitals, flu stations, water treatment plants, shelters."

Video shows massive crane collapsed onto St. Petersburg office building

A crane collapsed in downtown St. Petersburg as Milton ripped through the city, crashing onto an office building and sending debris onto the road below.

Social media video shared by the city showed some of the damage in St. Petersburg and surrounding areas the morning after the hurricane, including the Tampa Bay Rays' stadium , Tropicana Field, with its roof torn off and stadium lights exposed.

The stadium was being used to shelter thousands of linemen and National Guard members who responded to the storm. But Gov. Ron DeSantis' spokesperson said they had relocated before the roof was destroyed.

"We love you, St. Pete," the city of St. Petersburg wrote on social media . "It's been a tough few weeks, but we're still with you - we're ready to recover and rebuild."

Crews were assessing the damage early Thursday, officials said. Residents were  asked to stay home until they determined roads were safe.

Still a hurricane, Milton moves farther into Atlantic

The center of Milton moved farther into the Atlantic on Thursday morning after moving off the coast of eastern Florida, the National Hurricane Center said at 11 a.m. EDT.

It was still a hurricane, a low-end Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph, on a track expected to carry it past the Bahamas and then farther out to sea.

Even offshore, Milton is causing ongoing tropical storm conditions along coastal portions of the southeast U.S. and northwestern Bahamas, according to the hurricane center.

Forecasters say the storm is taking on extratropical characteristics on its way out, but warn Milton "will still be a powerful post-tropical cyclone." Winds are expected to weaken gradually over the next few days.