Heavy-hit Florida may have avoided ‘worst case scenario’ from Hurricane Milton

TALLAHASSEE, Florida — Hurricane Milton ripped across Florida overnight, leaving behind massive damage, deaths from tornadoes and plunging millions into the dark, but one of the state’s heavily populated areas may have avoided the cataclysmic outcome that many were fearing.

Milton weakened to a Category 3 storm before it made landfall on Wednesday night near Sarasota, and its path resulted in the vulnerable Tampa Bay region located north of the landfall being spared from a wave of water that had initially been predicted.

“The storm did bring much destruction and damage,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Thursday from the state emergency operations center. “The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst case scenario.”

More than 3.37 million customers were without power according to a mid-morning report from state officials, with nearly 1 million alone in the two main counties in the Tampa Bay region.

Search and rescue units fanned out overnight and dozens of rescues had already been made by the early morning. But state and local authorities were just beginning to measure the extent of the damage from Milton, the second major hurricane to rake across the state in the past two weeks.

DeSantis said that the state did not have a confirmed list of fatalities yet, but acknowledged that there had been reports of deaths. Local media outlets reported that a tornado spawned by Milton that touched down in Fort Pierce — on the eastern side of the state — killed four people.

Video footage posted overnight by residents of St. Petersburg showed that the winds of Milton were strong enough to rip off the roof of Tropicana Field, the home to the Tampa Bay Rays. Just two days ago the ballpark had been touted as a base camp for first responders and electric crews, but they were relocated ahead of Milton once it became apparent that the roof was not built to withstand the wind power of the storm.

St. Petersburg itself was dealing with major issues from Milton as the city announced in the middle of the night that it had shut down the entire water system due to water main breaks. The city also had to take its sewer system offline although Ken Welch, the mayor of the city, said Thursday morning they had just reactivated it. Welch also said that water was flowing again, but asked resident to boil it before using it.

The storm had brought flooding in its wake and state officials warned that waters could soon rise among major rivers due to heavy rainfall that came with Milton as it crossed the state.

Parts of Florida were already reeling from Hurricane Helene, which scraped by the Tampa Bay region before slamming into the Big Bend region located in the northern part of the state two weeks ago. Still, Helene struck a comparatively sparsely populated area in Florida, even as it caused widespread damage across the southeastern United States.

Milton, by contrast, affected much of Florida since the storm hit the west coast and remained at hurricane strength as it passed over the peninsula.

Florida will now begin a massive recovery effort. The state had already deployed thousands of National Guard units — with the help of personnel from other states — and worked with utilities to ensure that 50,000 line workers would be in place to help reconnect the state.

“We got more work to do, but we will absolutely get through this,” DeSantis said.

President Joe Biden spoke to DeSantis Thursday morning about the storm, according to a White House readout of the phone call between the two. DeSantis told Biden that the state was still assessing the damage. Federal Emergency Management Agency administrator Deanne Criswell participated in the call and will be surveying impacts in the state with DeSantis.

Help from other states is already flowing in. Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin said 235 National Guardsmen will assist with recovery efforts in Florida, after completing more than 70 water rescues in Virginia in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

“Being prepared matters,” Youngkin said on Fox News on Thursday morning. “They had a really great preparation for Helene, and I know their folks are tired. And that is why it is so important we respond to help them now.”

Andrew Howard contributed to this report.