In the wake of Hurricane Milton’s merciless fury many in the Sunshine State have been left grappling with the ruinous aftermath.
Homes along Florida’s coasts lie in ruins as neighborhoods have been left drowning in storm surge and streets are choked with debris and devastated by torrential downpours with as much as two inches accumulating per hour.
The US National Hurricane Center called the Category 3 hurricane ‘dangerous’ and ‘catastrophic’ – reporting that it maintained its Category 5 status as it built up to maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour as it made landfall late Wednesday evening.
Communities across the state were warned to evacuate as the western coast of the southern peninsula was expected to be leveled with at least 117 tornado warnings ravaging the area, with dozens reported to have materialized.
More than three million homes and businesses were without power Thursday morning as the first casualties were reported even before Milton made landfall around 8:30pm EST.
The wreckage continues as residents scour the areas assessing the irreversible damage caused by one of the strongest hurricanes in American history and the ninth of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season.
Shocking photos show a distressed woman in Osprey surveying the aftermath this morning as she walked through a flooded lawn with her hands on her head in disbelief of the monstrous wreckage.
In Wellington, a car was thrown upside down and against a house that lay in ruins, with fallen trees covering the home’s driveway and pieces of the roof lay scattered across the torn-up lawn as the coveted southern state reels in the wake of the natural disaster.
The famed Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg can be seen without a roof as immense damage and debris coat the ballfield creating an almost unrecognizable scene of tragedy.
A distressed woman in Osprey surveys the aftermath this morning as she walks through a flooded lawn with her hands on her head in disbelief of the monstrous wreckage
A car was thrown upside down against a house that lay in ruins in Wellington, with fallen trees covering the home’s driveway and pieces of the roof lay scattered across the torn-up lawn as the coveted southern state reels in the wake of the natural disaster
The famed Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg can be seen without a roof as immense damage and debris coat the ballfield creating an almost unrecognizable scene of tragedy
A drone image shows a flooded street in Siesta Key as at least four people have been confirmed dead – a result of tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton’s arrival on the state’s eastern coast
An estimated several tons of debris crowd the streets of Siesta Key in the aftermath of the once Category 5 hurricane that made landfall late Wednesday evening
Residents who remained in the southern state during the historic storm had no choice but to be rescued by disaster relief personnel as their second story apartment complex in Clearwater sits under several feet of water as a result of an overflow from a nearby creek
A drone image captured the ruins that lay in Siesta Key, as many boats are left totaled in one of the foremost affected areas by the ninth storm of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season
A Florida man has gone viral after the internet has coupled him with the famed ‘Lt. Dan,’ a character in the well-known Forrest Gump movie, after he chose to ride out Hurricane Milton in his boat
An aerial view in captured in Punta Gorda shows a person walking through the knee-deep waters that inundated a boarded-up neighborhood
Mallory Tollett, 12, comforts her dog Maggie after a suspected tornado went through her family’s property along Southeast Azimuth Way in Port Salerno leaving countless downed trees and total wreckage
A storm team in Fort Pierce followed the path of a violent tornado capturing the aftermath as many vehicles were overturned and severely damaged
Several tornadoes proved to be monumentally destructive, claiming lives, homes and other coveted assets in the Sunshine State
A drone view shows a bulldozer removing debris from a cluttered road after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Matlacha
Chest-deep storm surges flood Clearwater neighborhoods, leaving many stranded and displaced as homes and apartments are overwhelmed by the irreversible damage
A boat rests in the street after washing ashore, taking out road signs, neighboring fences and blocking a roadway in Punta Gorda
A woman walks through a flooded lawn past severe exterior damage to the roof and siding of an Osprey home
A fallen traffic light lay across Orlando’s Church St. as police intervene following the once-deemed Category 5 hurricane’s arrival late Wednesday evening
A Venice home lay wasted, displaying grave damage as the storm reportedly maintained its Category 5 status building up to maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour
A motorist attempts to navigate through a flooded street in Osprey, driving past a heaping pile of displaced debris
A crane that collapsed into a building is seen in downtown St. Petersburg due to Hurricane Milton
Volusia County Fire Rescue personnel respond to an emergency call in flood waters before dawn as Hurricane Milton moved through central Florida, in south Daytona
One of many tornadoes recorded in Port Salerno, Florida overturned tons-heavy vehicles blocking some from exiting their homes
Osprey, Florida, one of the hardest hit areas of the monumental hurricane suffers from catastrophic damages leaving many businesses displaced
Damages after Hurricane Milton swept through Bradenton, Florida destroying homes and leaving many without a place to rest their heads at night
Damage to a mobile home in the Harbor Lights Club, a mobile home park on Long Bayou in St. Petersburg, Florida
Before Hurricane Milton even made landfall, Reynolds Road near Maine Avenue in Lakeland, Florida flooded to unbelievable levels even as there is no large body of water in the area. Polk County Sheriffs have begun efforts to clear roadways as quickly as they can
Unable to escape their flooded apartment complex in residential Clearwater, Florida, disaster relief teams escorted several residents out by boat
Flooding throughout Central Florida leaves a boat washed ashore, resting along a drowning roadway after Milton passed through Punta Gorda, Florida
Residents of Tampa, Florida are waking up to the appalling aftermath of Hurricane Milton
New Monrovia Park neighborhood in Port Salerno, Florida after one of many reported tornadoes ransacked the area
Inside a Port Salerno, Florida home that was completely destroyed by a frightful and powerful tornado – just one of 117 reported to have rocked the Sunshine State
A house lies toppled off its stilts after the passage of Hurricane Milton, in Bradenton Beach on Anna Maria Island, Thursday, October 10
Houses lie in ruins after sustaining tornado and flood damage from the historic storm
The facade of a collapsed business in downtown Orlando, Florida
Flood waters bury an apartment complex where people continue to be rescued in the aftermath of the scathing storm
