Hurricane Milton makes landfall on Florida coast, leaving 2.8m without power and record flooding: Live updates

Florida residents in the path of Hurricane Milton were instructed to hunker down as the massive storm hit the state.

The hurricane made landfall as a Category 3 storm early Wednesday night near Sarasota County’s Siesta Key, bringing destructive tornadoes, 28ft waves, strong winds, heavy rainfall, and storm surge across multiple areas.

The National Weather Service generated 111 tornado warnings as of 9.30pm UK time, breaking a 2017 record.

More than 2.8 million customers were without power across the Sunshine State, according to outage tracker PowerOutage.US .

After landfall, Milton has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane , but the threat to life continues through Thursday, officials warned.

The National Hurricane Center said Milton will be “one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida”.

Joe Biden urged Floridians to heed local officials and brace for “the storm of the century”.

Vice President Kamala Harris warned that even the toughest Floridians won’t weather the “historic” hurricane.

Sarasota Police Chief Rex Troche told CNN on Wednesday that officers will stay on the streets until Milton’s winds top 45mph.

“If people need help, we’re not going to be able to come to them,” he said.