Hurricane Milton ripped across central Florida overnight, maintaining hurricane-force winds that destroyed homes and businesses, flooded roadways and bridges, and killed at least six people, although officials expressed relief the damage appeared less severe than originally feared.
Milton exited the state early Thursday as a Category 1 hurricane and was expected to move farther east into the Atlantic Ocean. The storm’s eye wall landed in Sarasota County on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday night, producing an 8-10-foot storm surge around Siesta Key south of Tampa.
Thousands of federal, state and local emergency responders deployed in the pre-dawn hours to conduct rescue operations, clear fallen trees from essential infrastructure, and remove debris off highways and bridges needed to reach storm victims.
“First responders have been working all through the night to help people who are in distress,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an early morning briefing. “What we can say is the storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario.”
