Hurricane Milton hits Florida with fury

Paralyzed and on edge, the state of Florida held its breath in the terrifyingly long night of Hurricane Milton, its powerful winds, torrential rains and the imminent risk of flash floods. Milton made landfall in Siesta Key at 8:30 p.m. local time as a Category 3 storm, with sustained winds of 120 mph (193 kph) and record-breaking rains. It has since been downgraded to Category 1, but forecasters insist that its impact will be significant. The storm has left more than 2.8 million people without power, and tornadoes that formed ahead of its arrival have killed at least two people in St. Lucie County, according to local authorities. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has asked people to take shelter and stay in place.

After a couple of days of chaotic evacuations that caused gridlock on the peninsula’s highways as up to seven million people sought safety, without knowing if they would have a home to return to, Milton slammed into the coast on Wednesday night. Besides the wind gusts, the weather front brought life-threatening storm surges of up to 13 feet (4 meters) in the Sarasota area, and record rainfall of 16 inches (46 centimeters) in places like Saint Petersburg. A flash flood emergency has been issued for Tampa, St. Petersburg, Riverview, and Palmetto, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). “This is a PARTICULARLY DANGEROUS SITUATION. SEEK HIGHER GROUND NOW!” urged the NWS.

In Tampa, in the first hours after the storm hit, wind gusts blew cars, debris and branches through streets lit by sudden flashes of blue light as power transformers exploded and the water level rose steadily. One of the first images that gave an idea of Milton’s power came from St. Petersburg, Tampa’s twin city across the bay. The Tropicana baseball stadium had its roof torn off by the winds and was at the mercy of the elements. The stadium was prepared to serve as a base of operations for hundreds of rescue workers. By midnight, it was unclear whether they were safe.

The storm is projected to cross the state from west to east as a hurricane, passing almost directly over Orlando and surrounding areas before exiting on the Atlantic, potentially still as a Category 1 storm, on Thursday morning. The flood warning is in effect from coast to coast. And while the risk of storm surge for Tampa Bay did not materialize, flooding was reported in Fort Myers, which was hit by Hurricane Ian in 2022.

The emergency response has been, in the words of Governor Ron DeSantis, “probably the largest in Florida history, maybe in the country.” It includes some 9,000 members of the National Guard, both local and from other states; more than 50,000 public service workers who have come from as far away as California to restore basic services as quickly as possible; helicopters and rescue vehicles ready to go as soon as conditions allow; and millions of gallons of fuel and diesel in reserve to supply gas stations. But preparation, DeSantis has admitted, does not translate into absolute control of the situation. “Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don’t see a way around it when the storm surge is 10 feet,” he said hours before Milton made landfall, at a morning news briefing in Tallahassee.

It was feared that Milton would be the first hurricane to make a direct hit on Tampa Bay in more than a century, after being spared at the last minute on numerous occasions in the past. In the end, after much speculation, that was the case again. Because of this track record, there were also fears that residents in this densely populated region (more than the sum of the 20 least-populated states) would not heed evacuation orders, which affected more than seven million people.

Just two weeks ago, Florida’s west coast was hit particularly hard by massive storm surges as Hurricane Helene passed nearby before setting off on a destructive northward path that killed at least 230 people and made it the second-deadliest hurricane in U.S. history, behind only Katrina in 2005. The memory of Helene, still lingering in water-scarred buildings and in piles of debris lining the sidewalks, has been a compelling reason to evacuate.

Cathie Perkins, the emergency manager for Pinellas County, on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay, alluded to precisely this in her latest warning to residents. “For those of you that were punched by Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You have to get out, and you have to get out now,” she urged. She added that those who decided to stay would have to fend for themselves, since emergency services would not risk their own lives to make rescues during the peak of the storm.

That peak took effect from the moment Milton made landfall, with winds gradually decreasing in intensity as it moved away from the water and also due to dry air coming in from the west that dispersed the eye of the hurricane, where the strongest gusts are concentrated. The deadly risks, and the greatest damage, will come with flooding that is feared to be catastrophic and generate millions of dollars in losses. But Milton has already made history. It is the third fastest-intensifying hurricane, thanks to the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, behind only Felix in 2007 and Wilma in 2005. Milton went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 25 hours. It has also been reported that it is the fifth most powerful cyclone on record in the Atlantic.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch had his eye on the next day even before Milton hit, with power outages expected for weeks and the sewer system shut down. “We have a long road ahead of us, but we will recover and we will rebuild,” he said.

Florida is known as the Sunshine State, but on Wednesday night that was easy to forget.

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