Hurricane “Milton” has brought fierce winds and heavy rain to various parts of Florida since Wednesday night, causing over a hundred tornadoes and floods that have resulted in devastating destruction. At least 16 people have lost their lives, and millions of households are without power. Fortunately, the storm did not cause the feared storm surge.
According to the information released by the National Hurricane Center of the United States, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Wednesday night, Milton made landfall near Siesta Key in Florida as a Category 3 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour. After landfall, it gradually weakened and moved away from Florida, now heading into the Atlantic Ocean.
This storm has brought destructive strong winds, heavy rain, and tornadoes to most of the coastal areas along the Gulf of Florida. Videos and photos taken in Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, Fort Myers, and other areas show the aftermath of the hurricane – a scene of debris, flooding, fallen trees, and power lines scattered on the streets.
Official statistics show that as of Thursday night, this storm has claimed at least 16 lives in the state, and the death toll could rise further.
The latest data from the website PowerOutage.us shows that more than 2.6 million households and businesses in Florida are still without power.
On Thursday, rating agency Fitch estimated that Hurricane Milton could result in property insurance losses ranging from $30 billion to $50 billion, making it the highest loss since Hurricane “Ian” in 2022 caused $60 billion in insurance losses to Florida along a similar path.