INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Hurricane Milton marched across central Florida on Thursday after making landfall on the state&s west coast hours earlier, whipping up
deadly tornadoes, destroying homes and knocking out power to nearly 2 million customers.The storm made landfall around 8:30 p.m
EDT (0030 GMT) on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour (195 kph) near Siesta Key, the U.S
National Hurricane Center said.By 11 p.m
EDT (0300 GMT), wind speeds had reduced to 105 mph (165 kph), dropping Milton to a Category 2 hurricane, nonetheless still considered
The eye of the storm was 75 miles (120 km) southwest of Orlando in the center of the state, Reuters reported.A flash flood emergency was in
effect for the Tampa Bay area including the cities of Tampa, St
Petersburg and Clearwater, the hurricane center said, with St
Petersburg already receiving 16.6 inches (422 mm) of rain on Wednesday.The eye of the storm landed in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of
some 5,400 off Sarasota about 60 miles (100 km) south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which is home to more than 3 million
people.Governor Ron DeSantis said he hoped Tampa Bay, once seen as the potential bull&s eye, could dodge major damage and that the worst of
the predicted storm surge could be avoided thanks to the landfall coming before the high tide
Forecasters said seawater could still rise as high as 13 feet (4 meters).DeSantis reported Milton had also spawned at least 19 tornadoes
caused damage in numerous counties, destroying around 125 homes, most of them mobile homes.&At this point, it&s too dangerous to evacuate
safely, so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down,& DeSantis said upon announcing the landfall.At least two deaths were reported
at a retirement community following a suspected tornado in Fort Pierce on the eastern coast of Florida, NBC News reported, citing St
Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson
His department did not immediately respond to a request for details.Pearson estimated 100 homes were destroyed in the county where some 17
tornadoes touched down, NBC said.More than 1.8 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.The
storm was expected to cross the Florida peninsula overnight and emerge into the Atlantic, still with hurricane force, on Thursday.Once past
Florida, it should weaken over the western Atlantic, possibly dropping below hurricane strength but still posing a storm-surge danger on the
state&s Atlantic Coast.In a state already battered by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, as many as two million people were ordered to
evacuate, and millions more live in the projected path of the storm.Much of the southern U.S
experienced the deadly force of Hurricane Helene as it cut a swath of devastation through Florida and several other states
Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage.ZOO ANIMALS PROTECTEDWhile human evacuees jammed the highways and created
gasoline shortages, animals including African elephants, Caribbean flamingos and pygmy hippos were riding out the storm at Tampa&s
zoo.Nearly a quarter of Florida&s gasoline stations were out of fuel on Wednesday afternoon.The Federal Emergency Management Agency had
moved millions of liters (gallons) of water, millions of meals and other supplies and personnel into the area
None of the additional aid will detract from recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene, the agency&s administrator, Deanne Criswell, said
earlier on Wednesday.Trucks have been running 24 hours a day to clear mounds of debris left behind by Helene before Milton potentially
turned them into dangerous projectiles, DeSantis said.About 9,000 National Guard personnel were deployed in Florida, ready to assist
recovery efforts, as were 50,000 electricity grid workers in anticipating of widespread power outages, DeSantis said.Search-and-rescue teams
were prepared to head out as soon as the storm passes, working through the night if needed, DeSantis said.&It&s going to mean pretty much
all the rescues are going to be done in the dark, in the middle of the night, but that&s fine
They&re going to do that,& DeSantis said.The post Hurricane Milton marches across central Florida, destroying homes first appeared on Ariana
