Hurricane "Milton" reached the US state of Florida as a third-category storm, causing disaster along the coast already devastated by another hurricane - "Helene", reported the Associated Press.
"Milton" lashed cities in the area with winds in excess of 100 mph after spawning multiple tornadoes, but spared the city of Tampa. In recent hours, the storm turned south and made landfall in the Siesta Key area near Sarasota, about 110 km south of Tampa. The Tampa area was still in a state of emergency, with more than 15 inches of rain reported in St. Petersburg, prompting the National Weather Service to warn that flash flooding is expected.
More than 2 million homes, businesses and businesses in Florida are without electricity, according to data from the specialized website poweroutage.us. Hardy County has the most customers without power, as well as neighboring Sarasota and Manatee counties.
Even before "Milton" to reach land, tornadoes ripped through the state. The country club "Spanish Lakes" is particularly hard hit. near Fort Pierce, on the Atlantic coast of Florida, where houses were destroyed and some residents died.
"We lost several people,", St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told WPBF News, without specifying how many people died.
About 125 structures were destroyed before the hurricane made landfall, most of them mobile homes in senior housing complexes, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Department of Emergency Management.
Severe damage appears to have been done to the "Tropicana Field" - the home of the baseball team "Tampa Bay Rays" from St. Petersburg. Television pictures showed that the roof structure of the facility was in pieces after the passage of the element. At the moment, it is not known if there is any damage inside the stadium.
About 90 minutes after making landfall the "Milton" weakened to a category two storm. By late last night, maximum sustained winds were around 100 mph (165 km/h), and high wave warnings were issued for parts of the Atlantic coast and Gulf of Florida.
The heavy rains are also expected to cause flooding inland in river and lake areas, while "Milton" passes through the Florida peninsula. It is forecast to reach the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday and could affect the densely populated Orlando area.
The new hurricane hit an area still reeling from two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in West Florida and killed at least 230 people in the southern part of the country. In many places, people along the coast rushed to clear the debris before the winds and stormy waves of the "Milton" to scatter them and increase the damage. The authorities urged residents to leave the area urgently.