Hurricane Milton swept through Florida on Thursday, knocking out power to more than 3 million homes, just two weeks after Helene’s devastating passage. Local authorities also announced the deaths of at least four people in two tornadoes the day before.
“The storm was significant, but fortunately the worst-case scenario did not occur,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a press conference Thursday morning.
The hurricane “weakened before making landfall [mercredi soir]and the marine submersion, from what we know for the moment, was not as significant as that observed for Hurricane Helene, which hit the southeast of the United States at the end of September, he said. -he added.
Deadly tornadoes
However, at least four deaths were recorded by local authorities after the appearance of several tornadoes which created shock in the peninsula. According to Ron DeSantis, the hurricane caused at least 19 tornadoes.
Milton made landfall Wednesday evening on the west coast of Florida as a Category 3 hurricane – on a scale of 5 – and maintained powerful winds as it made its way inland, before reaching Thursday morning the Atlantic.
>> Details from Jordan Davis, live from Florida:
“Stay indoors”
In Sarasota County, on the west coast of Florida, where the water rose up to 3 meters according to the governor, residents began to go out Thursday to see the damage, tree branches and road signs strewn the streets.
Joe Biden, however, called on the population to “stay indoors” for the moment, in particular to avoid “downed power lines, debris, and washed out roads”.
Further north, in St. Petersburg, on Tampa Bay, the hurricane tore the roof off the local professional team’s baseball stadium.
More than 3.1 million homes were without power Thursday morning across Florida, according to the governor. A figure confirmed by the specialized website poweroutage.us.
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Leaving the area, a “question of life and death”
For several days, authorities have been urging residents of areas affected by evacuation orders to leave, assuring that it is a “matter of life and death”.
Florida, the third most populous state in the country which attracts many tourists, is used to hurricanes.
However, climate change, by warming the seas, makes their rapid intensification more likely and increases the risk of more powerful phenomena, according to scientists.
>> Read also: Regions devastated by Hurricane Helene still cut off from the world in the United States
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