Florida
At least ten people die as a result of Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton took a toll on the Tampa Bay Stadium
© Tampa Bay Times/Action Press
Although the worst fears do not come to pass, Hurricane Milton leaves behind considerable devastation. Ten people die and there is a risk of further flooding.
At least ten deaths, floods, damaged houses: Hurricane “Milton” hit the US state of Florida and left a trail of destruction behind. More than three million households were recently without power, and in many places houses were under water. However, the feared “worst scenario” of a once-in-a-century storm with horrendous damage and catastrophic losses did not materialize.
“Milton” downgraded to hurricane level 1
“Milton” reached Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane. It weakened as it passed over the state in the southeastern United States at night According to the US Hurricane Center NHC, the cyclone had fallen to hurricane force 1 by Thursday morning, but still recorded winds of up to 140 kilometers per hour. Eventually he reached the east coast of Florida and from there continued out into the Atlantic.
In the days before “Milton’s” arrival, there was an alert level 1 locally and also in Washington. The authorities warned of a once-in-a-century storm with devastating consequences. “The storm was significant, but fortunately the worst-case scenario did not occur,” said Florida Governor Ron DeSantis.

Destruction in the city center. A construction crane overturned and fell onto a building
© Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via ZUMA Press Wire / Action Press
Trees were torn down and streets were flooded. The stadium roof Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg was covered by the hurricane. A construction crane collapsed onto a building not far from the stadium. In Clearwater, on Florida’s west coast, emergency crews using inflatable boats rescued residents from the upper floors of flooded buildings while the water was chest-high in the streets.
More than three million without a job
According to the website poweroutage.us, more than 3.3 million households remained without power. Even before “Milton” made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, it had triggered several tornadoes. According to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, at least ten people were killed by the tornadoes.
US President Joe Biden continued to call on residents of the affected regions to exercise caution on Thursday. Rubble and debris as well as downed power lines created “dangerous conditions,” Biden said.
In Sarasota on the Gulf Coast, residents ventured outdoors again in the morning. Resident Carrie Elizabeth expressed relief. “The wind was scary because the whole building swayed and the windows rattled,” she said of the night of the storm. “I feel like we were really lucky. The cleanup is going to take a long time, but it could have been a lot worse.”
“Milton” followed “Helene”
“Milton” hit Florida just two weeks after Storm Helene. “Helene” made landfall a little further north and then moved through several states in the southeastern United States. More than 237 people were killed by “Helene”, numerous buildings were damaged or completely destroyed, and large areas were flooded. After Hurricane Katrina in 2005, “Helene” was the most serious storm in the region in 50 years.