Which Florida counties are without power after Hurricane Milton hit? Take a look

As Hurricane Milton makes its way across Florida, over 1,600,000 customers across the state have already lost power, according to the statistics firm Find Energy.

Millions across the state are expected to lose power. Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier this week that more power outages were expected than the state experienced with Hurricane Helene, as Milton is expected to cross through much of Central Florida.

So far, Hardee, Manatee and Sarasota counties have been most affected by the power outages, according to data collected by Find Energy from all but eight utility companies that service Florida.

Duke Energy, which services over 2 million customers across the state and is the main provider in Pinellas County, announced in a press release Tuesday that it was convening 16,000 power line technicians, vegetation workers, damage assessors and support personnel at staging sites outside of Milton’s path but as close to the impacted areas at possible so they can help affected customers as soon as it’s safe to do so.

READ MORE: Hurricane Milton makes landfall near Sarasota. One million already without power

Florida Power and Light also had 17,000 workers from over 40 states stationed to assist with restoration. Some had already begun working on restoring power in southwest Florida in between Milton’s bands.

FPL President and CEO Armando Pimentel said Wednesday that most of the company’s service territory should be prepared to be affected because of the size of the storm, its windspeeds and the vast amount of ground it is projected to cover.

READ MORE: How long will it take to restore your power if it goes out in Hurricane Milton? ‘Longer’

If you lose power, the utility companies recommend disconnecting or turning off any nonessential electrical equipment that could start automatically when power is restored to avoid overloading circuits.

If there is damage to your home from flooding or debris, Pimentel said it is important to contact a licensed electrician before restoring power.

READ MORE: What you can do if Hurricane Milton cuts power, internet on Gulf Coast and South Florida

Historically, FPL can estimate how long it will take to restore power roughly 24 hours after the storm, and Pimentel said it is expecting to do the same after Milton has passed.

This story and graphics will be updated periodically over the next few days as outage information changes. For updated information, head to findenergy.com/fl/power-outage/ .