Four Dead, 135 Rescued As Hurricane Milton Leaves Florida In Ruins

Four persons have been confirmed dead and at least 135 people are being rescued from an assisted living facility as the deadly tornado, Hurricane Milton, hit the city of Florida between Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

The four deaths were recorded in St. Lucie County as the hurricane flattened a retirement community in the county, CNN said.

Authorities also confirmed that the tornadoes caused a lot of damage, leaving over 3 million without power, in what officials say is not as bad as presumed.

According to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the storm was as significant, “but thankfully this was not the worst case scenario.”

Governor DeSantis said that more than 80,000 people had stayed in shelters across the state overnight. He and state officials urged Florida residents to let rescue workers check affected areas before returning to them

He said, “We’ll survey the damage and get people on their feet, We’ll get through this.

“Our state is a peninsula in the middle of a tropical environment. I mean, we are just built to be able to respond to hurricanes,” DeSantis said.

He added that workers had been trying to clear debris overnight, and that U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration had agreed to all of Florida’s requests for emergency assistance.

Rescue operation is currently ongoing as 135 people have been so far rescued in Tampa with boats and amphibious vehicles

Tropicana Field was set to be a refuge for thousands of storm personnel, but the storm blew most of the roof off, damaging many more structures.

In St. Petersburg, sections of the roof of the Tropicana Field baseball stadium, home to the Tampa Bay Rays, were torn off.

According to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Administrator, Deanne Criswell, much of the damage was caused by the 38 reported tornadoes which touched down amid the hurricane.

The Sarasota area appears to be facing the most storm surge damage, even as the Tampa area avoided a direct hit, she told MSNBC in an interview.

First responders across the state are reporting that “it wasn’t the worst case scenario that they were planning for, but they prepared for it, which is making it so much easier to go out and support the communities today,” Criswell said, noting that more than 90,000 residents went to shelters.

“The evacuation orders saved lives.”

The extent of the damage is not yet clear, Criswell said, adding that there could be more storms to come.

“This is the third hurricane that has impacted Florida in just over two months,” Criswell said, noting recent hits by storms
Debby and just two weeks ago by Helene.

“We’re going to continue to help speed up this recovery so they can be prepared if there’s another storm that heads their way,” she said.