Hurricane Milton Leaves 3 Million Without Power After Hitting Florida as Category 3 Storm

Hurricane Milton landed as a Category 3 storm with winds of more than 120 miles an hour Wednesday at about 8:30 Wednesday night. It struck near Sarasota in Siesta Key, about 60 miles south of Tampa Bay on Florida's Gulf Coast, spawning tornadoes, and creating a large storm surge with heavy rains.

While Tampa and St. Petersburg were spared a direct hit, the strong winds shredded the roof of Tropicana Field, home to baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. Winds toppled a huge construction crane, which crashed into the Tampa Bay Times building in downtown St. Petersburg. No injuries are reported in either event.

According to The Tampa Bay Times, the stadium was not being used as a shelter but was being employed as “a staging site for workers” who had arrived to help clean up the storm's aftermath.

NEW: Drone footage shows extensive damage to the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. Hurricane #Milton brought winds over 100 mph to downtown St. Pete.

The field was being used as a staging area for lineman to help restore power after the storm. #FLwx pic.twitter.com/fBedocvLeP

— WeatherNation (@WeatherNation) October 10, 2024

Milton was downgraded overnight to a still-dangerous Category 1 hurricane, sweeping across Florida, threatening central Florida and the Atlantic Coast population centers.

Milton marched across the state early Thursday, dumping 16 inches of rainfall and leaving a trail of damage including downed trees, flattened homes, and widespread power outages. More than three million people lost electricity. 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Milton created more than 30 tornadoes upon making landfall, destroying 125 homes, including mobile homes and a retirement community, and claiming lives, according to St. Lucie Board of County Commissioners Vice Chair Chris Dzadovsky.

"We have a number of fatalities we need to find," he said. "We have folks that we want to rescue, and so that's the important part here."

St. Lucie County Sheriff's office confirmed "loss of life" there as a tornado struck Spanish Lakes Country Club Village.

The National Hurricane Center in Miami reported, "A flash flood emergency continues over portions of west-central Florida and damaging winds reaching the Florida east coast."

***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters and download the CBN News app to ensure you keep receiving the latest news.***

A forecast from The Weather Channel read, "Milton will now cross Central Florida with tropical storm-force winds and extremely heavy rainfall before getting into the Atlantic early Thursday. Conditions will rapidly improve for the remainder of the week."

President Biden is promising federal assistance. "People of Florida and impacted states, we've got your back," he said. 

Relief workers from CBN's Operation Blessing will begin moving into the areas of Florida hardest hit by Hurricane Milton to help victims begin cleaning up and provide basic necessities like hot meals.

*** CLICK HERE to Help the Victims of Hurricane Helene

Operation Blessing's Chief Operation Officer Drew Friedrich told CBN News they're taking generators, mobile kitchens, chainsaws, construction equipment, and more to help the victims. They're also ready to give spiritual comfort and prayer.

"This is a huge opportunity for us to go in and be a blessing to people who maybe don't know the Lord or otherwise," he said, "So while this is definitely us meeting tangible needs and meeting physical needs, it's a real opportunity spiritually."

Operation Blessing teams are currently in North Carolina and Georgia helping folks devastated by Hurricane Helene.  Now they're ready to assist the people of Florida.

"It stretches you thin, but again, the Lord is with us. He opens door after door," Friedrich said. "We've seen his favor every step of the way, and we're just so grateful for the chance to go in and help these people who are hurting."

Operation Blessing welcomes volunteers, donations, and prayer. 

If you would like to support Operation Blessing as it helps those hit hard by Hurricane Helene, you can call CBN at 1-800-700-7000 or click HERE to visit Operation Blessing's website.