Hurricane Milton hit the state of Florida with force at dawn, leaving behind a trail of destruction, flooding, rain and strong wind gusts. The Spaniards who live there have seen it up close. “Huge tornadoes are forming and I just flew a drone so you could see the proximity,” commented Sebastián Menéndez.
For Anna, who lives in Orlando, it was her first hurricane and she decided to evacuate, following the recommendations of the authorities. You were able to find accommodation in Atlanta, 700 kilometers from my home and after a very long journey. In the videos he posted on social networks, he explains that he was able to bring “a blanket in case we have to sleep in the car, water and food for Simba”. In addition, he was able to report on the condition of the road: “Even though it was early, the roads were very clogged because it was the maximum evacuation day,” he noted in another video.
One of the worst affected areas was South Florida and for some Spaniards who reside in this region, the uncertainty has not been easy to bear. “We are locked in, but really outside the cone. If it moves, Well, we’re screwed.”Nuria Calvo said in another video on her social networks. For her part, Inma stressed that “they make me “It makes my hair stand up thinking about it.”
“Let them take a picture, a picture of their clothes to be able to identify them in the event of death”is the stark message police sent to everyone who decided not to evacuate from ground zero of the hurricane. And despite this, a man from Tampa ignored the statements and decided to receive Milton inside his boat, shaken by the violent attacks of the waves. A recklessness which he managed to survive.
Milton kills four people during his visit to Florida
Deaths following Hurricane Milton in Florida increased to fourall due to tornadoes that occurred before the arrival of the hurricane, which has already reached the open sea on the eastern coast of the state. The deaths occurred in St. Lucie County, Florida, before the arrival of the hurricane, which left many counties in its wake. already destroyed more than three million people without electricitywhile authorities responded to thousands of calls for help from trapped citizens.
As the sheriff of Saint Lucia, Keith Pearson, explained to CNN this Thursday, the multiple tornadoes caused by the hurricane left ‘Multiple deaths’ after hitting ‘prefabricated housing community’. “All their houses with them inside were lifted up, moved, destroyed. I mean everything that was in the path of the hurricane or that tornado is gone,” he noted.
According to the latest report released by the US National Hurricane Center (NHC) at 8:00 a.m. local time (12:00 GMT), Milton It is now 120 kilometers from Cape Canaveral and moves away from the east coast of Florida, with sustained winds of 140 kilometers per hour.
Hurricane warnings south of Sebastian Inlet and north of the Flagler-Volusia county line have been modified to tropical storm warningswhile the storm surge warning was suspended along the west coast of Florida. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said this morning that while the risk of storm surge has passed, the danger of flooding is not over.
“At 7:00 this morning, when I arrive high tide, rivers will overflow throughout Hillsborough County“, not just in the city of Tampa,” he noted. According to the PowerOutage.us website, as of 6:30 a.m. (10:00 GMT), more than 3.2 million homes and businesses were without power in west-central counties. coast of states like the most affected, including Hardee, Hillsborough, Charlotte, Manatee, Sarasota and Pinellas.
Across Pinellas County, a warning was issued to citizens to stay safe following “severe damage throughout the county.” “Many roads are impassable due to downed power lines, fallen trees, debris. St. Pete, Gulfport and Lealman without water,” the alert said.
Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronicer urged residents to be patient with rescue crews as they work through the night to make rescues and try to reach those who need help. “There are so many trees and power lines that we literally have to let’s cross these neighborhoods to be able to assess how damaged they are,” he told CNN this morning.
Milton, the fifth hurricane to hit the United States this year, made landfall at Siesta Key, on the west coast of Florida, south of the city of Tampa, at 8:30 p.m. local time (00:30 GMT), with winds up to at 205 kilometers per hour (120 miles), i.e. with category 3 on the Saffir-Simpson scale (out of 5).
