Hurricane Milton Leaves 4 Dead in Florida
Effects of Hurricane Milton passing through Florida, Oct. 10, 2024. X/ @mikasa4231
October 10, 2024 Hour: 9:12 am
Currently, it is moving away from Florida’s east coast, with sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour.
On Thursday, the death toll related to Milton in Florida rose to 4 people, as the hurricane moved out to sea off the state’s east coast this morning.
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The deaths occurred in St. Lucie County before the cyclone arrived, which left numerous counties devastated and more than three million people without power, while authorities are responding to thousands of rescue calls from trapped citizens.
St. Lucie Sheriff Keith Pearson said that tornadoes spawned by the hurricane caused multiple deaths after striking a mobile home community. “All their homes, with people inside, were lifted, moved, destroyed. I mean, everything in the path of the hurricane or tornado disappeared,” he said.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), Milton is now 120 kilometers from Cape Canaveral and is moving away from Florida’s east coast, with sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour.
Hurricane warnings south of Sebastian Inlet and north of the Flagler and Volusia county line have been downgraded to tropical storm warnings, while the storm surge warning along Florida’s west coast has been lifted.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor stated that although the risk of storm surges has passed, the danger of flooding is not over. “At 7:00 this morning, when high tide hits, rivers will flood throughout Hillsborough County, not just in the city of Tampa,” she said.
At 6:30 AM local time, PowerOutage confirmed that over 3.2 million homes and businesses were without power, with the central-west coast counties being the hardest hit, including Hardee, Hillsborough, Charlotte, Manatee, Sarasota, and Pinellas.
A warning was issued throughout Pinellas County for residents to stay sheltered due to extensive damage across the county. Many roads are impassable due to downed power lines, fallen trees, and debris. St. Pete, Gulfport, and Lealman are without water.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister urged residents to be patient with rescue teams as they work through the night to carry out rescues and try to reach those in need of help. “There are so many downed trees and power lines that we literally have to cut our way through these neighborhoods to assess the extent of the damage,” he said.
Milton, the fifth hurricane to hit the United States this year, made landfall in Siesta Key, on Florida’s west coast, south of Tampa, at 8:30 PM local time, with winds reaching up to 205 kilometers per hour (120 miles), classified as Category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (out of 5).
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
