Photos show conditions deteriorating as Hurricane Milton hits Florida
By Amaris Encinas, USA TODAY,
3 hours ago
Hurricane Milton is expected to wreak havoc on Florida, but high-speed winds, rainfall and even tornadoes were reported in the region even before the storm made landfall Wednesday night.
Resources, including fuel and supplies, waned as Floridians evacuated from The Sunshine State, leaving in the days and hours before its predicted landfall on Wednesday night. Others have prepared for Hurricane Milton by sheltering in place at local shelters, schools, or churches.
“Historic, catastrophic, life-threatening – all those words summarize the situation,” said Austen Flannery, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Tampa.
Hurricane Milton's arrival and projected path of destruction comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated multiple regions across the Southeast, including Florida.
Florida residents were exhausted and defeated after Helene, with some telling USA TODAY that they were unsure if they would have a home to return to after the storm. Hurricane Milton, now a Category 4, will cut across Florida and make its way into the Atlantic Ocean by late Thursday.
Hurricane Milton made landfall at about 8:30 p.m. ET on Wednesday near Siesta Key, Florida, about 70 miles south of Tampa, as a Category 3 storm, according to the National Hurricane Center.
Hurricane Milton tracker
Photos illustrate Hurricane Milton's initial wave of destruction
Hurricane Milton is expected to cause widespread damage in Florida and will likely leave millions of people without power, water and other resources for an extended period of time. Toppled trees, downed power lines and homes have already been destroyed.
Brandon Marlow walks through surge waters flooding the street after Hurricane Milton came ashore in the Sarasota area on October 09, 2024, in Fort Myers, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesPeople look out at surge waters flooding the street from their building after Hurricane Milton came ashore in the Sarasota area on October 09, 2024, in Fort Myers, Florida. People are waiting to assess the damage after the Category 3 hurricane came ashore. Joe Raedle/Getty ImagesAn apparent garage located behind a home off 15th Avenue and 23rd Street in downtown Vero Beach, Florida experienced significant damage as Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Kaila Jones, TC Palm via USA TODAY NetworkFlooding is seen on 43rd Avenue looking south near the Gifford Youth Achievement Center ahead of Hurricane Milton on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, in Gifford, Florida. Kaila Jones, TC Palm via USA TODAY NetworkA Sunshine Furniture box truck is seen on its side in the parking lot of the 12th Street Plaza near Sunshine Furniture in Vero Beach, Florida as Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Kaila Jones, TC Palm via USA TODAY NetworkDebris in downtown Vero Beach, Florida as Hurricane Milton makes landfall on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Kaila Jones, TC Palm via USA TODAY NetworkA brilliant sky after Hurricane Milton passes by Fort Myers on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Andrew West/The News-Press part of the USA TODAY NetworkThe sky lights up as an electric installation is damaged, while Hurricane Milton approaches Sarasota, Florida. Marco Bello/REUTERSStreet lights are pictured as Hurricane Milton approaches, in Orlando, Florida. Jose Luis Gonzalez/REUTERSWind and rain batter the area as Hurricane Milton approaches on October 9, 2024, in Sarasota, Florida. Sean Rayford/Getty Images
A motorist drives past broken utility poles taken down by strong wind gusts as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida. Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERSView of the living room of a house destroyed by a passing tornado as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida. Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERSA downed street sign and debris lie scattered after a passing tornado affected the area as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida. Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERSPeople remove debris from a street after a tornado hit the area as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida. Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERSClara Garcia and her family stand outside her house after getting hit by a reported tornado in Fort Myers, Florida on October 9, 2024, as Hurricane Milton approaches. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty ImagesDebris from a destroyed house are seen after it was hit by a reported tornado in Fort Myers, Florida, on October 9, 2024, as Hurricane Milton approaches. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty ImagesSamantha Dubberly consoles her daughter Alexa Haight as medics takes her grandfather into care after he got injured by a reported tornado that hit his house in Fort Myers, Florida. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty ImagesConnor Ferran's house is seen after it was hit by a tornado in Fort Myers, Florida on October 9, 2024, as Hurricane Milton approaches. Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty ImagesA drone view shows a house destroyed by a tornado as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida. Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERSPolk County Sheriff's Office personnel pray outside a shelter as Hurricane Milton approaches, in Lakeland, Florida, U.S., October 9, 2024. REUTERS/Jose Luis Gonzalez TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY Jose Luis Gonzalez/REUTERSClothes are hung out to dry in a parking lot as Hurricane Milton approaches Sarasota, in Florida. Marco Bello/REUTERSSarasota residents prepared messages for Hurricane Milton before its expected arrival Wednesday. Christian Casale/USA TODAY NETWORKA person takes advantage of a break in a rain band caused by Hurricane Milton as he kayaks down a neighborhood street that was flooded on Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024. Kaila Jones/TC Palm part of the USA TODAY NetworkA woman holds an umbrella while arriving at a shelter as Hurricane Milton approaches, in Lakeland, Florida, on October 9, 2024. Jose Luis Gonzalez/REUTERSLow-lying areas of Brevard County in Florida were starting to see flooding Wednesday afternoon as Hurricane Milton was pounding the county with torrential rainfall. Harbor Circle in Cocoa Beach was underwater by 6 p.m. Malcolm Denemark/USA TODAY NETWORKWater has begun to run over seawalls in Marco Island, Florida, round 6:30 p.m. Wednesday as Hurricane Milton continued to barrel toward the peninsula and outerbands affected Southwest Florida. J. Kyle Foster/Naples Daily News part of the USA TODAY NetworkA woman cries after seeing the damage caused by a passing tornado as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida. Ricardo Arduengo/REUTERSMarie Cook reacts to the damage to her home in the Binks Estates community after a tornado touch down around 5:30pm striking homes in The Preserve and Binks Estate among others in its path on Oct. 9, 2024 in Wellington, Florida, before Hurricane Milton made landfall. Bill Ingram/USA TODAY NETWORK
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