The very dangerous Hurricane Milton made landfall this Wednesday evening on Siesta Key, near the city of Sarasota, on the west coast of Florida (United States), with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour (120 miles), or category 3. .
Central Milton reached this tourist area of Florida, known for its crystal-clear beaches, around 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time (00:30 GMT).
Moments before the powerful cyclone made landfall, Florida authorities reported that at least 19 tornadoes were recorded in central and south Florida throughout the day and more than 125 homes were destroyed .
A few minutes after Milton’s landing, some 780,000 customers in Florida were without electricity, according to a count from the specialist site PowerOutage.
According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), dangerous storm surges are occurring in populated cities along this stretch of coast, such as Fort Myers, Sarasota, St. Petersburg and Tampa, with the potential to raise the level of the sea up to approximately 4.5 meters. above the ground.
Milton is the second hurricane to hit Florida in almost two weeks, after suffering the impact of powerful Hurricane Helene on September 26, which entered the northwest of this state as a category 4 and left a trail of devastation in six southeastern states. Florida USA and more than 250 dead.
Hurricane Milton formed in the Gulf of Mexico last weekend and quickly strengthened, twice reaching Category 5, the maximum on the Saffir-Simpson scale, as it moved towards Florida and dumping heavy precipitation in the northern Yucatan Peninsula.
In anticipation of their arrival, local authorities declared a mandatory evacuation order for more than 5 million people and more than 30,000 people were housed in shelters opened by state authorities in the most exposed counties at risk of flooding.
The hurricane is expected to cross the peninsula throughout the night and exit Thursday morning into the Atlantic off the already weakened east coast of Florida.
The Atlantic hurricane season, which officially began June 1, could have “above” average activity, with between 8 and 13 hurricanes, according to the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). , of which between 4 and 7 would be of superior category.
Since the start of the hurricane season, nine hurricanes have formed: Beryl, Debby, Ernesto, Francine, Helene, Isaac, Kirk, Lesley and now Milton, among which Beryl and Milton have reached category 5, the maximum on the Saffir-Simpson intensity scale.
