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More Than 3M Without Power After Milton10/10 06:07

   Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing 
across Florida as a Category 3 storm, pounding cities with ferocious winds and 
rain, whipping up a barrage of tornadoes and causing an unknown numbers of 
deaths. It compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct 
hit.

   TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on 
Thursday after plowing across Florida as a Category 3 storm, pounding cities 
with ferocious winds and rain, whipping up a barrage of tornadoes and causing 
an unknown numbers of deaths. It compounded the misery wrought by Helene while 
sparing Tampa a direct hit.

   The storm tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall 
Wednesday night in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. 
The situation in the Tampa area was still a major emergency as St. Petersburg 
recorded over 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain, prompting the National 
Weather Service to warn of flash flooding there as well as other parts of 
western and central Florida.

   As dawn broke Thursday, officials repeated that the danger had not passed: 
Storm surge remained a concern in many parts of Florida and tropical storm 
warnings were in place for much of the east-central coast. Officials in the 
hard-hit counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to 
stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and 
flooding.

   "We'll let you know when it's safe to come out," Sheriff Chad Chronister of 
Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, said on Facebook.

   The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more 
than 3.2 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to 
poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

   The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay 
Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg, was ripped to shreds by the fierce winds. 
It was not immediately clear if there was damage inside. Multiple cranes were 
also toppled in the storm, the weather service said.

   St. Petersburg residents also could no longer get water from their household 
taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service. Mayor Ken 
Welch had told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown 
of the sewer system.

   Just inland from Tampa, the flooding in Plant City was "absolutely 
staggering," according City Manager Bill McDaniel. Emergency crews rescued 35 
people overnight, said McDaniel, who estimated the city had received 13.5 
inches (34 cm) of rain.

   "We have flooding in places and to levels that I've never seen, and I've 
lived in this community for my entire life," he said in a video posted online 
Thursday morning.

   Before Milton even made landfall, heavy rain and tornadoes lashed parts of 
southern Florida Wednesday morning, with conditions deteriorating throughout 
the day. One twister touched down in the lightly populated Everglades and 
crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado hit in Fort Myers, snapping 
tree limbs and tearing a gas station's canopy to shreds.

   The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida's Atlantic 
Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and some residents 
killed.

   "We have lost some life," St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF 
News, though he wouldn't say how many people were killed.

   About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane came ashore, many of 
them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, the 
director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

   About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 
2 storm. By early Thursday, the hurricane was a Category 1 storm with maximum 
sustained winds of about 85 mph (135 kph) and leaving the state near Cape 
Canaveral.

   The storm slammed into a region still reeling two weeks after Hurricane 
Helene flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 
people dead across the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities 
raced to collect and dispose of debris before Milton's winds and storm surge 
could toss it around and compound any damage.

   Officials had issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival. By 
late afternoon, some officials said the time had passed for such efforts, 
suggesting that people who stayed behind hunker down instead.

   Jackie Curnick said she wrestled with her decision to stay at home in 
Sarasota, just north of where the storm made landfall. She and her husband 
started packing Monday to evacuate, but they struggled to find available hotel 
rooms, and the few they came by were too expensive.

   With a 2-year-old son and a baby girl due Oct. 29, Curnick said there were 
too many unanswered questions if they got in the car and left: where to sleep, 
if they'd be able to fill up their gas tank, and if they could even find a safe 
route out of the state.

   Video taken during the storm showed howling winds and sheets of rain lashing 
their glass-enclosed swimming pool as their son and dog watched. Trees shook 
violently.

   "The thing is it's so difficult to evacuate in a peninsula," she said ahead 
of the storm. "In most other states, you can go in any direction to get out. In 
Florida, there are only so many roads that take you north or south."

   At a news conference in Tallahassee, Gov. Ron DeSantis described deployment 
of a wide range of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from 
Florida and other states; over 50,000 utility workers from as far as 
California; and highway patrol cars with sirens to escort gasoline tankers to 
replenish supplies so people could fill up their tanks before evacuating.

   "Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don't think there's any way 
around that," DeSantis said.

   Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties 
with a total population of about 7.2 million people. In Orlando, Walt Disney 
World, Universal Orlando and Sea World remained closed Thursday.

   More than 60% of gas stations in Tampa and St. Petersburg were out of gas 
Wednesday night, according to GasBuddy, though DeSantis said the state's 
overall supply was fine.

   Officials warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves, 
because first responders were not expected to risk their lives attempting 
rescues at the height of the storm.

   In Charlotte Harbor, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Tampa, clouds 
swirled and winds gusted as Josh Parks packed his Kia sedan with clothes and 
other belongings Wednesday. Two weeks ago, Helene's surge brought about 5 feet 
(1.5 meters) of water to the neighborhood, and its streets remain filled with 
waterlogged furniture, torn-out drywall and other debris.

   Parks, an auto technician, planned to flee to his daughter's home inland and 
said his roommate already left.

   "I told her to pack like you aren't coming back," he said.

 
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