Photos emerging from Florida highlight the catastrophic effects left by Hurricane Milton as it traversed the state.
Weather experts openly discussed the potential destruction the latest hurricane to hit the United States might cause, with one forecaster visibly emotional as he relayed the storm’s massive scale.
Before making landfall near Siesta Key on Florida’s central west coast on Wednesday (October 9), the hurricane intensified to a category five. By the time it hit land, it had weakened to a ‘dangerous’ category three.
Though now reduced to a category one storm, its impact on Florida remains profound.
The city of Punta Gorda in Southwest Florida was inundated with several feet of water as Hurricane Milton passed through.
Efforts to brace for flooding were made by locals before Milton’s arrival, with Dorothy Thompson telling Wink News: “We’ve put up everything that we can. I’ve got garbage bags on important things. I have a whole bundle of things we’re going to take with us.
“We’re going to a hotel, and most of it’s in water bags and Ziploc bags. The inside of my house, I put everything I can on top of the bed and on top of the couch, and took drawers out, and you just, we’re just going to hope for the best.”
In the aftermath of the storm, the Punta Gorda Police Department is set to evaluate damage and road conditions, responding to calls as permitted by the current circumstances.
Throughout the storm, rescue efforts were ongoing, with police in Clearwater assisting residents trapped in an apartment complex after Milton struck.
Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector commented to ABC that the city was ‘lucky’ to avoid the anticipated storm surge, though he noted: “We had such heavy, heavy rain and wind that it put folks … in jeopardy.”
Siesta Key, where the hurricane initially hit, faced ‘somewhere between seven to eight feet’ of floodwaters from the storm surge, stated Sandra Tapfumaneyi, chief of emergency management at Sarasota County Emergency Services.
In several counties near Siesta Key, power outages affected over 70 percent of consumers.
In St. Petersburg, photos show a crane that collapsed into a sizable office structure, creating a substantial hole in the building’s wall.
The building is home to various enterprises, among them the Tampa Bay Times.
The crane, used in the construction of a luxury condo by Red Apple Group, was under assessment following the incident, said John Catsimatidis, the company’s CEO.
Fort Meyers, located roughly 80 miles south of the hurricane’s landfall, experienced presumed tornado activity before Milton’s arrival, alongside significant flooding.
According to CBS News, homes in the vicinity lost roofs due to the suspected tornado’s force.
Hurricane Milton has so far resulted in at least nine confirmed fatalities, with the extent of the damage still unfolding.
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