Hurricane Milton’s Impact: What We Know So Far

Hurricane Milton’s Impact: What We Know So Far

Flooding, wind damage and power outages affected much of Florida. At least 14 deaths have been linked to the storm.

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By Jacey Fortin and Orlando Mayorquín

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Hurricane Milton flooded neighborhoods, flattened homes and knocked out power to millions of customers when it plowed through Florida on Wednesday and Thursday. Its path of destruction was uneven, though, and in many areas, repairs were well underway by Friday.

Some places near the Gulf of Mexico, as well as farther inland, were inundated, though not to the degree that officials had feared. Many homes in the storm’s path were leveled — by one early estimate, more than 120 were destroyed — while other structures nearby remained intact. At least 14 deaths have been linked to the storm.

“We did not get the worst-case scenario,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Friday. “But we did get hit, and we’re going to have to work to bounce back.”

Here is what we know about the storm and its impact.

Damage varied from one county to the next.

The Tampa Bay region did not experience the disastrous storm surge that many forecasters had feared. Still, there was serious flooding along the Gulf Coast, which received as much as 18 inches of rain. And some areas were battered by strong winds, particularly barrier islands in the direct path of the storm.

In St. Petersburg, winds gusting to more than 100 miles an hour tore part of the roof off Tropicana Field, the home stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays, and smashed a 500-foot construction crane onto a building housing the offices of The Tampa Bay Times.

Heavy rain and swollen rivers in Central Florida created flood conditions that were still dangerous on Friday. Throughout the state, around 1,200 people were rescued by state emergency workers and the Florida National Guard, which activated more than 6,500 troops, one of the largest responses to a natural disaster in state history.

Farther east, tornadoes generated by the hurricane were a deadly menace. Occurring on the opposite side of the peninsula from where Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm, the tornadoes tore through several communities ahead of the main body of the hurricane.

Tornadoes played a deadly role.

It is not unusual for major hurricanes to spawn tornadoes, because their outer rain bands often contain strong thunderstorms that can generate strong winds.

Tornadoes that accompany tropical systems are usually weak, but the ones that ripped across Florida on Wednesday were more intense than usual, meteorologists said. They were strong and lasted for a long time, cutting winding paths through several counties.

That is why more than 100 structures were damaged before Milton had even come ashore, with fatal results: Tornadoes are thought to have killed at least six people in St. Lucie County, on the Atlantic Coast about 65 miles north of Palm Beach.

Some of those victims lived in a retirement community of mobile homes north of Fort Pierce, according to relatives of the victims.

Evacuations seemed to prevent some fatalities.

As Milton churned toward Florida early in the week, the warnings from officials were dire — and they appeared to work.

The storm prompted one of the largest evacuations in state history. Some people fled on crowded highways in the days before the storm made landfall, while others made their way to shelters closer to home.

As Milton moved off into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday, officials credited the warnings for getting people out of harm’s way. “We know lifesaving measures did make a difference,” President Biden said.

Another factor that probably lessened the severity of destruction is that Florida has had plenty of practice in preparing for hurricanes, and has instituted relatively strong building codes.

Still, the storms that hit Florida may be getting stronger with time. Milton delivered at least 20 percent more rain and 10 percent stronger winds than a similarly rare storm would have done in a world that humans had not warmed by burning fossil fuels, scientists said on Friday.

Power is being restored, and cleanup is underway.

More than 2.2 million customers in Florida were still without power on Friday afternoon, according to poweroutages.us, about two-thirds of the peak outage figure during the storm.

The good news, according to state officials, was that electricity infrastructure across Florida had generally not suffered enough damage to require a total rebuild. Melissa Seixas, the president of Duke Energy Florida, said on Friday that the necessary repairs to her company’s facilities would take days, not weeks.

Still, gasoline was scarce in some areas, including Tampa, where long lines on Friday made it a chore to keep vehicle fuel tanks filled. Still, the steady hum of chain saws and generators filled the air along much of the Gulf Coast.

Debris cleanup efforts are underway in many parts of Florida, but not just because of Hurricane Milton. Mr. DeSantis said on Friday that some communities seemed to have more debris leftover from Hurricane Helene, which barreled through the state about two weeks ago.

Patricia Mazzei, Jenna Russell, Kate Selig, Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, Annie Correal and Jennifer Reed and Kate Christobek contributed reporting.

More on Hurricane Milton

• Falsehoods Disrupt Recovery: Experts warn that weather-related disinformation can rapidly escalate into real-world risks and distract from aid.
• What It Was Like in the Eye: Here’s our reporter’s account of a harrowing night in Sarasota, Fla. — different from anything she has experienced as a native of New England.
• Over 3 Million Without Power: Downed power lines and scattered debris caused widespread power outages in Florida that may prove difficult for utility companies to repair.
• Would His Houseboat Survive?: A man’s boat had survived several storms the last three years. But after Milton swept through, he wasn’t sure he would have a home to return to.
• Mental Health Harms: Research shows that experiencing repeated disasters makes people more vulnerable to mental health issues, and prolongs the time it takes to recover.