KUALA LUMPUR – Hurricane Milton has landed along the west-central coast of Florida today as a Category 3 storm with heavy losses and damages expected from it.
US media reported that multiple fatalities were recorded in St Lucie County, a district in the state.
Over 1.4 million electric consumers in Florida had their power cut as of 10pm Eastern Time (10am Thursday Malaysian time), around 1.5 hours after the hurricane made landfall, according to PowerOutage.us
“Life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds, and flooding rains will continue to occur across portions of central and southwestern Florida,” said an advisory by the National Weather Service.
A flash flood emergency was also issued for the Tampa area with a sustained wind of 119kmph and a gust of 157kmph hour reported at Middle Tampa Bay, according to an update by the National Hurricane Centre at 10pm Eastern Time.
Reports also said that St Petersburg, Florida had over 23cm of rainfall in three hours and more than 40cm of rainfall in the past 24 hours.
Florida Governor Ronald DeSantis said that more than 100 tornado warnings were issued for the state and 19 touchdowns were confirmed today, with several counties seeing damages. The roofs of several buildings were seen to be blown off and vehicles were seen to be flipped and destroyed by debris.
Milton has weakened to a Category 1 storm according to the latest advisory, with a Category 5 intensity prior to its landing. However, it is expected to remain a hurricane while it crosses the Florida Peninsula, warned the National Weather Service.
It became the fifth hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast so far in 2024 with three of them striking Florida.
Meanwhile, the International Space Station has shared photos of the hurricane on X, taken from space yesterday when it was off the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.
In the latest update as of press time, the National Hurricane Centre has issued a flash flood emergency warning, expected to continue over portions of west-central Florida. – October 10, 2024