Hurricane "Milton"

Tornadoes in the run-up to the storm killed people

First responders in the water in front of an apartment complex that was inundated by a flooded creek because of "Milton".

(Bild: APA/AFP/Bryan R. SMITH)

Hurricane Milton left a trail of devastation across central Florida on Thursday, but has lost much of its intensity. Hours earlier, it had reached the west coast of the US state as a category three hurricane out of a total of five, bringing down tornadoes, destroying homes and paralyzing the power supply to more than two million households and businesses.

Although the eye of the storm is moving on, authorities continue to warn of heavy rain and strong winds, especially in east and central Florida. Parts of the state are still expecting between 50 and 100 liters of rainfall per square meter. The US hurricane center also warned of storm surges on the west coast.

Wind speeds reached up to 195 kilometers per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center. "Milton" moved on towards the Atlantic and was downgraded to category one due to decreasing wind strength, but still caused heavy rainfall and storm surges. The hurricane was located Thursday morning (CEST) about 75 kilometers southwest of Cape Canaveral, the rocket launch center of the US space agency NASA. A storm surge warning was issued for the Tampa Bay area, including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, according to the hurricane center.

First responders in the water in front of an apartment complex that was inundated by a flooded creek due to "Milton".

(Bild: APA/AFP/Bryan R. SMITH)

Hurricane Milton caused flooding throughout Central Florida.

(Bild: APA/Getty Images via AFP/GETTY IMAGES/JOE RAEDLE)

The eye of the storm hit Siesta Key, an island town of about 5400 people off Sarasota, about 100 kilometers south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area. More than three million people live there. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis expressed the hope that Tampa Bay, which was once considered a potential target of the storm, could be spared major damage. According to forecasts, however, the water levels on the coast there could still rise by up to four meters.

Hurricane triggered at least 19 tornadoes
The hurricane triggered at least 19 tornadoes and destroyed about 125 homes, most of them mobile homes, which are common in the US, DeSantis said. After the evacuation call for millions of people over the past few days, it is now too late to do so, he said. "At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to hunker down in place," DeSantis said. Before the hurricane hit, many people had left their homes as a precaution.

At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place.

Ron DeSantis

Bild: AP/Wilfredo Lee

One of the tornadoes believed to have been triggered by the hurricane in Fort Pierce on the east coast of Florida is said to have resulted in at least four deaths in a retirement community, as the TV station NBC News reported, citing local safety authorities. There are said to have been around 17 tornadoes in the area and 100 houses were destroyed. According to the PowerOutage.us platform, more than two million households and businesses in Florida were without power.

People rescued from collapsed houses
In the city of Palm Beach on the west coast, emergency services rescued several people from collapsed buildings or cars that had been knocked over by the wind. Several people were taken to hospital with injuries, according to the local fire department. After its devastating path across the US state of Florida, "Milton" was back over the sea.

The evacuations meant that many highways in the area were blocked and a quarter of Florida's petrol stations were out of fuel. More than 70,000 people have sought shelter in emergency shelters in Florida. Deanne Criswell, head of the US disaster management agency Fema, told the British broadcaster BBC Radio 4.

Cattle graze near a greenhouse damaged by Hurricane Milton.

(Bild: ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The civil defense agency had brought large quantities of drinking water, millions of meals and other relief supplies as well as personnel to the area. The aid would not affect the reconstruction efforts after the previous Hurricane Helene, emphasized Deanne Criswell, head of the authority. At the Tampa Zoo, animals such as African elephants, Caribbean flamingos and pygmy hippos survived the severe hurricane.

Hurricane Helene killed more than 200 people
Large parts of the southern US recently experienced the deadly force of Hurricane Helene, which cut a swath of destruction through Florida and several other states, killing more than 200 people. Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage.

According to a White House statement, US President Joe Biden was briefed by the emergency authorities on the initial impact of the hurricane. Biden had canceled his visit to Germany and a multilateral Ukraine meeting at the US base in Ramstein with reference to Hurricane Milton. This was also seen in the context of the US presidential elections in early November, in which Biden's deputy Kamala Harris is running against former US President Donald Trump. Trump had sharply criticized the crisis management of Biden and Harris.

Taylor Swift donates five million US dollars
Pop superstar Taylor Swift (34) has donated five million US dollars (around 4.5 million euros) to the hurricane victims. They are incredibly grateful to the singer for her generous donation to help the victims of hurricanes "Helene" and "Milton", the aid organization "Feeding America" announced on its social media. The money would go towards providing food and other relief supplies and rebuilding communities.