Hurricane Milton live updates: What’s happening in Florida Thursday after the storm

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Here’s what to know about Hurricane Milton in Florida on Thursday. This live updates report will be updated throughout the day.

Top stories on Hurricane Milton

▪ Destruction . Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm on Siesta Key, a beach town on Sarasota’s coast, cut across Central Florida and vaulted out of the state Thursday morning just north of Cape Canaveral on the East Coast as a Cat 1 hurricane.

▪ Power . About 3.3 million Florida residents awoke Thursday morning to homes without power, according to initial reports by Find Energy that tracks the state’s electric companies.

▪ Death toll: The number of lives lost due to Milton is not yet determined. But at least four people died during two confirmed tornadoes that swept St. Lucie County, spokesperson Erick Gill told the Miami Herald on Thursday.

Roadblock at Anna Maria Island

There’s a roadblock at Anna Maria Island, a barrier island and tourist magnet on Manatee County’s coast, after Hurricane Milton’s lashing. Concrete barriers and a Bradenton police car blocked its path Thursday morning. The officer told Bradenton Herald reporter Michael Moore that there’s no access to the island at all. “I don’t know when they’ll open it,” the officer said.

KNOW MORE: Live updates: ‘The tree went down almost in slow motion.’ Manatee recovering after Milton

Milton’s mess in Southwest Florida

Residents, officials and reporters and photographers roamed the streets of Southwest Florida and Bradenton to see what Hurricane Milton’s storm surge and Category 3 wrought on the state just two weeks after Hurricane Helene. Here’s some of what they saw.

SEE MORE: Hurricane Milton battered Southwest Florida. What does the damage look like?

Coral Gables reacts

Coral Gables Commissioner Ariel Fernandez said in statement that the “City Beautiful” kept its nickname intact, free of “major impacts,” after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key off Sarasota’s coast about 220 miles to the north of Coral Gables City Hall.

“Coral Gables’ members of Florida Task Force Two’s Urban Search and Rescue team deployed this morning with additional members of our team expected to deploy in the coming hours, to assist our neighbors to the north with rescue and recovery efforts,” Fernandez posted.

Coral Gables’ offices and facilities as well as its city parks and recreation centers remain closed Thursday and will reopen Friday.

Public schools to reopen

Miami-Dade and Broward county schools announced on Thursday that classes will resume Friday after two days of closures due to Hurricane Milton.

What to do with your trash in Miami-Dade, Broward

In Miami-Dade on Thursday there will be no waste or recycling collection as usual. For regular Thursday garbage pickup, the next collection day will be Monday. Recycling customers who usually get a Thursday pickup, should only put out their blue recycling carts out by 7 a.m. Saturday for that make-up day. Broward County will conduct trash pickups as normal on Thursday, the county’s website update said.

White House to governor’s mansion

President Biden spoke to Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday morning about the impacts of Hurricane Milton on the people of Florida, the White House Press Office reported in a news alert. DeSantis said officials are still assessing the damage across the state. He thanked the president for the extensive federal support to prepare for and respond to the storm. Biden reiterated that he will provide any support the state needs to speed response and recovery. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell participated in the call before she was due to survey damages with DeSantis Thursday morning and will brief Biden afterward.

SEE MORE: See what Hurricane Milton did to Florida. Video of the arriving storm and the damage

Taylor Swift’s multimillion donation

Taylor Swift donated $5 million to Feeding America, a national food bank organization, toward relief efforts for Hurricanes Helene and Milton, USA Today reported.

Swift is scheduled to open the last leg of her Eras Tour with three sold-out concerts at Miami Gardens’ Hard Rock Stadium Oct. 18-20.

“This contribution will help communities rebuild and recover, providing essential food, clean water, and supplies to people affected by these devastating storms,” the charity’s CEO, Claire Babineaux-Fontenot, said in a statement posted to Instagram.

How Siesta Key fared

Hurricane Milton made landfall on Siesta Key, a top tourist destination in Sarasota County, known for its award-winning beaches. “We survived! I can’t even believe it,” resident Jessica Hoffman, group administrator for the Facebook Siesta Key-ASK THE LOCALS group posted in a video Thursday morning.