Marie Cook reacts to the damage to her home in the Binks Estates community after a tornado formed by Hurricane Milton touched down, striking homes in The Preserve at Binks Estate among others in its path in Wellington, Florida, on Oct. 9, 2024.
- Gov. Ron DeSantis said Florida avoided the worst-case scenario, a major hurricane directly hitting the densely populated Tampa Bay area.
- Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key, Florida.
- More than three million people are currently without power in Florida.
- Twelve storm-related deaths have been confirmed across the state.
Millions of people in Florida were without power Thursday after Hurricane Milton spawned tornados, flooding and powerful winds. Twelve storm-related deaths have been confirmed across the state.
Milton caused multiple tornados ahead of landfall on Wednesday, with the National Weather Service confirming five of the seven reported. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said earlier that 19 tornado touchdowns had been confirmed.
Authorities in Florida are currently assessing the damage after Milton made landfall Wednesday evening as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key on Florida's west coast about 70 miles south of Tampa Bay.
The storm churned east-northeastward toward Cape Canaveral with maximum sustained winds of 85 miles per hour and is moving off the coast of Florida into the Atlantic, according to the National Hurricane Center.
More than three million people were left without power in Florida, according to PowerOutage.us.
President Joe Biden said Thursday his administration is working on relief efforts but said it is still too early to know the full extent of the storm's damage. He thanked all those on the ground coordinating the relief effort and said the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, will open disaster recovery centers around the affected area.
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"We know from previous hurricanes that it's often the case that more lives are lost in the days following the storm than actually during the storm itself," he said.
Biden said FEMA has sufficient funding to support the response to Milton and the ongoing efforts for Hurricane Helene, and said Congress should act as fast as possible to increase the emergency relief fund for the Small Business Administration. The SBA provides loans and support to homeowners, renters and small businesses in the wake of natural disasters.
"Congress should be coming back and moving on emergency needs immediately and they are going to have to come back after the election as well," he said. "This is going to be a long haul for total rebuilding. It's going to take several billion dollars. It's not going to be a matter of just a little bit," Biden added.
St. Petersburg police confirmed two people died in the city following the hurricane. St. Petersburg Chief of Police Anthony Holloway said in a news conference that one death was from a "medical" incident, and they have not yet been able to confirm the cause of the other death.
Volusia County Sheriff Mike Chitwood confirmed at least three people died from the hurricane. One person died from a tree falling, while the cause of the two other deaths has not yet been determined.
Volusia County officials have implemented a curfew starting at 9 p.m. that will end at 5 a.m. on Friday. The curfew is meant to ensure safety during ongoing recovery efforts throughout the night, according to a post on Facebook.
One person died in Citrus County from a falling tree, according to Florida Highway Patrol Sergeant Steve Gaskins.
At least six people were confirmed dead in St. Lucie County from two tornadoes that touched down around 4:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, according to Florida Gov. DeSantis.
DeSantis, in a press conference in St. Lucie County on Thursday afternoon, said there seems to have been fewer rescues than there were for Hurricane Helene.
"I think for Helene for the first 24 to 36 hours, there were probably thousands of rescues. My sense would be that we're probably in the hundreds of rescues statewide so far," he said.
More than 2,200 flights in the U.S. were canceled on Thursday as airlines grapple with the damage done by Milton, according to FlightAware.
Close to 1,000 of those canceled flights were scheduled to fly out of, or into, Orlando International Airport alone. About 500 flights were canceled at Tampa International Airport, which announced on social media site X that it will reopen at 8 a.m. on Friday.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said in a press conference Thursday that the city has not recorded extensive injuries or any deaths following the hurricane.
"I really think it's due to Hurricane Helene," she said. "When people get to see firsthand the power of Mother Nature, it's very impactful, literally and figuratively. And so I think that people heeded that warning and got out and were able to stay safe."
About half a million homes are without power and damage from flooding is not at the same level as after Hurricane Helene, according to the mayor.
The City of Tampa posted on X for locals to stay in place until public officials say otherwise, as first responders work on the ground to assess and clear any hazards.
President Biden asked Floridians to stay inside and off any roads as downed power lines, debris and flooding have created dangerous conditions.
"Help is on the way, but until it arrives, shelter in place until your local officials say it's safe to go out," he said in a post on X.
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell said the evacuation orders prior to the hurricane saved lives.
She added that the full extent of the damage is not yet known, and that FEMA is working to speed up recovery efforts in case of further storms.
"It wasn't the worst-case scenario that [first responders] were planning for, but they prepared for it, which is making it so much easier to go out and support the communities today," Criswell told MSNBC on Thursday.
Access to Pinellas County, which includes St. Petersburg and the barrier islands west of Tampa, has been restored as of 8:45 a.m., according to the Pinellas County Sheriff's Department.
Pinellas County officials lifted the mandatory evacuation order but asked residents to avoid any unnecessary travel due to road hazards and to allow recovery crews to work efficiently. No confirmed deaths have been reported in the county.
Powerful winds from the hurricane tore apart the roof of the home stadium of the MLB's Tampa Bay Rays. The ballpark, Tropicana Field, is located in St. Petersburg and was planned to be a 10,000-person basecamp for workers to use when responding to the storm.
"We were not a shelter, so Tropicana Field had only essential personnel there for the storm, and they are all accounted for and safe," a spokesperson from the Tampa Bay Rays told CNBC.
DeSantis said Florida had avoided the worst-case scenario, a major hurricane directly hitting the densely populated Tampa Bay area.
Earlier this week, Milton was a catastrophic Category 5 storm on track to make landfall near Tampa, but weakened before hitting Siesta Key.
DeSantis said the storm had sucked water out from the Tampa area, rather than causing a 10- to 15-foot storm surge.
"In that sense, we did not have as much surge overall than we did with Hurricane Helene just a couple weeks ago," DeSantis told CNBC's "Squawk Box" on Thursday morning. The power outages, however, are larger than those caused by Helene, and there is also damage on Florida's east coast, he said.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
