Florida counts cost of Hurricane Milton as death toll from devastating storm climbs to 16

Search and rescue operations were continuing in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton after the storm ripped through Florida leaving at least 16 people dead.

Hundreds of Florida residents had already been rescued on Thursday from the aftermath of the storm after it smashed through coastal communities where it tore homes into pieces, filled streets with mud and spawned a barrage of deadly tornadoes.

More than 6,500 National guard are now supporting response efforts as they work to clear debris and try and return communities to their homes.

At least 16 people have now been confirmed dead by the devastating storm, including six who were killed in tornadoes in St Lucie County.

The dead included two people killed in St Petersburg , and another was killed after a tree fell through a roof in Volusia County. This figure may still rise as rescuers hunt through debris.

Damage was widespread and water levels may continue to rise for days, but governor Ron DeSantis said it was not "the worst-case scenario".

The deadly storm surge feared for the city of Tampa never materialised after the storm weakened and tracked south before making landfall, though the storm dumped up to 18in of rain in some areas, Mr DeSantis said.

The system also knocked out power to more than three million customers, flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.

The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8ft to 10ft - lower than in the worst place during Hurricane Helene last month

"We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses," Mr DeSantis said. "We've got more to do, but we will absolutely get through this."

"You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks - not easy to go through - but I've seen a lot of resilience throughout this state," the governor said at a briefing in Sarasota. He said he was "very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly."

At least 340 individuals and 49 pets have been rescued in ongoing search-and-rescue operations, DeSantis said Thursday afternoon.

After flying over some of the hard-hit areas, the governor said many of the homes that went up in recent years withstood the storm: "Our buildings that were built in the last 20 or 30 years, they did very well."

Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.

"We'll let you know when it's safe to come out," Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, said.

The fabric roof of Tropicana Field - home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St Petersburg - was ripped to shreds by fierce winds. Debris littered the field, but no injuries were reported.

St Petersburg residents could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break shut down service. Mayor Ken Welch had told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system.

The mayor of St Petersburg warned residents that cranes at several construction projects across the city might fall and one came crashing down at the storm's peak on Wednesday night.

No one was injured when the crane working on a 46-storey condominium and office building - which will be the tallest residential tower on Florida's Gulf coast - crashed into a nearby building where the Tampa Bay Times is located.

But the twisted metal gouged a hole where part of it came to rest in the brick and concrete on one corner of the building. Wires dangled down and bits of office items were strewn about.

Another part of the crane blocked the street below.

No one was working in the newspaper office at the time of the collapse. City officials cordoned off several blocks until they can assess the damage and begin working to remove the toppled and twisted crane.

At least 340 individuals and 49 pets have been rescued in ongoing search-and-rescue operations, Mr DeSantis said on Thursday afternoon.

"We are laser-focused on search-and-rescue operations today," said Colonel Mark Thieme, executive director of the Florida State Guard.

Among the scores of tornadoes, one touched down in the lightly populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75. Another hit Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a filling station's canopy to shreds.

Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida's Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and at least five people killed in tornadoes, St Lucie County Sheriff's Office said.

Before the hurricane arrived, about 125 homes were destroyed, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm. By early Thursday, it was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 85mph and it left the state near Cape Canaveral.

The storm slammed into a region still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 people dead across the South.

About 80,000 people spent the night in shelters and thousands of others fled after authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people.

In Orlando, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World remained closed on Thursday. Tampa airport, which suffered minimal damage, was expected to reopen no later than Friday, Mr DeSantis said.

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