Where is damage, flooding in Florida? A look at Hurricane Milton's route of destruction

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Hurricane Milton made landfall on Wednesday at 8:30 p.m. EDT as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph sustained winds amid a flurry of tornadoes it spawned. It caused severe flooding and power outages for millions of people in south Tampa Bay.

As wind and flood damage are assessed in Florida, the storm has shifted eastward heading across the state, toward the Atlantic Ocean.

Tampa has not had a direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921 . The Tampa Bay region is still reeling from Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago.

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Florida counties hit by power outages

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Due to heavy rain on Wednesday night, a flash flood emergency was declared for Pasco, Hillsborough, and Polk counties, which include Lakeland, Winter Haven, and Wesley Chapel. Eight to 12 inches of rain were predicted to fall in the area, according to Weather.com .

More: Hurricane Milton leaves destruction across storm-weary Florida: Live updates

Milton's path over Florida

The National Hurricane Center reported that after portions of the region saw more than 16 inches of rain, a flash flood emergency was issued for Tampa, St. Petersburg, and Clearwater.

More: Hurricane Milton tracker: Storm exits Florida at Category 1 strength after slamming west coast

More than 30 Category 3 hurricanes hit since 1920

Wednesday afternoon tornadic supercells − dangerous, rotating thunderstorms that can produce tornadoes − began to sweep across the Florida Peninsula, the National Weather Service update said. More than 12 million people were under tornado warnings, and the National Weather Service in Miami said on social media .

Hurricane Milton spurred several tornadoes

There were multiple reports of tornadoes across the central part of the state, according to the Storm Prediction Center.

Hurricane Milton flooding in Florida

It will be a while before all damage caused by Milton can be assessed. Past hurricanes have caused billions of dollars in damage from flooding, structural damage and power outages.

CONTRIBUTING John Bacon, Trevor Hughes, Thao Nguyen, Karina Zaiets and Shawn Sullivan

( This story was updated to add a map locating reported tornadoes in Florida on Wednesday , and a before and after image of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, FL.)

SOURCE National Hurricane Center; National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Storm Prediction Center, Weather.com, AccuWeather.com and USA TODAY research

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Where is damage, flooding in Florida? A look at Hurricane Milton's route of destruction