Hurricane Milton had initially been category five on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale, with winds of over 157mph expected and an expectation of ‘catastrophic damage’.

It was later downgraded to category three (100mph), but still caused significant damage and did result in loss of life.

At least 16 people are confirmed dead after Hurricane Milton, and the death toll may rise as more bodies are found, as over two million people were left without power for their homes and businesses.

Rescue efforts are underway to help those affected by the flooding, while there are people who are assessing the damage in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

One of those is Pedro Casares, who decided to protect his home by strapping it down before the hurricane hit.

Some people thought it was pretty funny, while others wanted to see what sort of impact it would have, and now, there’s been an update.

His daughter has posted a video to TikTok showing the aftermath of Hurricane Milton and fortunately, the house is still there, the straps are still there, and they appear to be in good condition.

She thanked people for worrying about them and said that with ‘no crazy damages to the home’, she and her dad were going to see if any of their neighbours needed some help.

Having taken a shine to Pedro in the run-up to Hurricane Milton, plenty were very happy to see that his house was intact and nothing had gone wrong with his plan.

People called it a ‘good idea’, and told the TikToker they’d been really rooting for her and her dad.

Some people did comment that they could see other houses in the background were still intact, so Casares probably didn’t need to strap his entire house down.

Still, better safe than sorry, right?

Other people who gained viral fame during Hurricane Milton have begun to emerge in the aftermath of the deadly weather.

Joseph Malinowski is one of them. A stubborn sailor, Malinowski decided not to accept the offer of a shelter, and that he would instead ride out the weather in his boat.

He ended up being nicknamed ‘Lieutenant Dan’, and he said he’d survived the ‘pretty mellow’ hurricane despite his boat being slammed against the harbour wall a few times.

Source: ladbible.com

A Florida official informed Brandi that her mother did not survive the storm. Debbie, who had moved to Florida in March (2024), was 66 years old at the time of her passing.

Yesterday, October 10, Brandi took to Facebook to share a lengthy post detailing how much her mother meant to her. Alongside an array of beautiful photos of Debbie and her family, Brandi expressed, “My mom will be missed incredibly forever [sic] this will leave a deep deep hole in the hearts of us kids and her grandchildren.”

She noted how her mother was always there for her family members whenever they needed her, highlighting Debbie as an “amazing mother and grandmother.” “And I will be lost without her for the rest of my life,” divulged the heartbroken daughter.

Adding an extra layer of sorrow, she then revealed, “Mom I wish I told you more often how much I loved you and how much I appreciate […] everything about you. I wish I was there for you [sic] I wish I had never left you down there [sic] I wish you would come home with me.”

Brandi even went so far as to say that she would take her mother’s place if she could before adding, “I will always miss you and love you.”

At the end of her message, she expressed her gratitude to Debbie for being her mom. She also promised to make Debbie proud and to be as great of a mother to her daughter, Madylyn Smith, as Debbie was to her.

In her tribute, Brandi spoke about how, at least, she takes some sort of solace in the fact that Debbie is now with her husband of 42 years, Jeff Kennedy (Brandi’s dad), who passed away a few years ago.

According to a CNN report that covered the sad story, before she died and after Jeff’s demise, Debbie had gotten a double burial plot in New York so she could be laid to rest next to him when she passed.

This is something that Brandi also mentioned in her Facebook post, explaining how their family is doing everything they can to get Debbie’s body back to New York.

Speaking to CNN about the matter, Brandi said, “I want everybody to know what an amazing person she was, and she deserves to come and be with her husband.”

Debbie’s niece-in-law, Peyton Kennedy, organized a GoFundMe page in the hopes of raising funds to transport her body to New York.

Additionally, the family is facing the financial burdens of funeral costs and medical expenses. “Any contribution […] will go directly toward easing the financial strain on our family, allowing us to focus on healing and honoring Debbie Kennedy’s memory,” stated Peyton.

Like the Kennedy family, other people have been severely affected by Hurricane Milton. CNN reporters have been covering how some of the hardest-hit communities have been trying to assess the “carnage” and conduct relief and rescue operations.

The destruction caused by Hurricane Milton in Fort Pierce, Florida on October 10, 2024 | Source: Getty Images
The destruction caused by Hurricane Milton in Fort Pierce, Florida on October 10, 2024 | Source: Getty Images

Pointing to an 18-wheeler truck that was slammed on its side by the high winds, CNN Correspondent Brian Todd reported, “These trucks weigh about 18 tons when they’re empty, about 40 tons when they’re full. Just imagine the kind of power and the force it took to get this truck in this state.”

Hurricane Milton also claimed the lives of six people in St. Lucie County. Speaking on the destruction this county faced, Sheriff Keith Pearson told CNN that the storm “lifted up modular homes and tossed it like it was garbage, like it was nothing.”

In Siesta Key, where the hurricane made landfall, debris, such as suitcases, mattresses, and other personal belongings, is surrounding houses.

CNN Correspondent Randi Kaye highlighted how Floridians have been feeling concerning being hit by one storm after the other.

He noted, “Talking to these people, they are frustrated, they are angry, they are in tears […] They don’t know when they’re going to get hit, if they’re going to be spared … they feel like they need a fortress in order to survive here.”

Source: Amomama

A total of ten people have now been confirmed dead, including five who were killed in tornadoes in St Lucie County. A further two were reported dead in St Petersburg, and another was killed after a tree fell through a roof in Volusia County. This figure may still rise as rescuers hunt through debris in the area.

More than 3.3million homes and businesses are now without power while surge warnings are still being issued for much of the east-central coast of Florida and northward into Georgia. Tropical storm warnings are also in place along the coast into South Carolina.

The raging tempest landed last night as a Category 3 hurricane, sending 28ft waves, at least 27 tornadoes and a thundering storm surge spiraling across the region. It is no longer classed as a hurricane, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center, but wind speeds of 75 miles per hour continue to blast the state.

Florida governor DeSantis has said that he expects supermarkets and petrol stations to reopen soon, as the authorities bring more fuel into the state. Walt Disney World, in storm-battered Orlando, will reopen tomorrow – just two days after they closed their doors to tourists.

More than 6,500 National guard are now supporting response efforts as they work to clear debris and try and return communities to their homes.

There were fears Tampa would be battered by the eye of the storm before Milton tracked south, sparing the city of some 3.1 million a direct hit – but the region was still plunged into a state of major emergency.

The city itself saw significant and St. Petersburg recorded over 16 inches (41 centimetres) of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to warn of flash flooding there as well as other parts of western and central Florida.

Further south, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office reported localised flooding and storm surge, and Lorraine Anderson, the public information officer for Venice Beach, said the area saw an estimated 6 to 7 feet (1.8 to 2 meters) of storm surge.

Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding.

Tampa mayor Jane Castor added she was pleased the area did not see storm surges close to the predicted levels of 15 feet, which could have submerged entire houses.

But she urged residents to stay inside and warned that ‘it’s not over’, insisting that Hillsborough County could flood as the high tide returned from 7am EST.

Meanwhile, some evacuees who were fortunate enough to make their way back into their properties after leaving shelters today were met with a terrifying surprise.

Milton arrived in Siesta Key near Sarasota as a Category 3 storm overnight and whipped eastwards, pounding towns and cities with ferocious winds rain and a barrage of tornadoes before exiting over Orlando and into the Atlantic Ocean late this morning.

It has compounded the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago, with the death toll expected to rise in the coming days as rescue efforts reveal the true extent of Milton’s fury.

The storm also knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3.2 million homes and businesses reportedly left without electricity and in some cases water.

Florida governor Ron DeSantis said on Thursday morning that the aftermath of Hurricane Milton was not ‘the worst case scenario’.

He told reporters that the worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet – less than the highest levels recorded during Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.

He added crews across the state spent the night clearing debris, and confirmed that President Joe Biden’s administration had agreed to all of Florida’s request for emergency assistance.

‘Our state is a peninsula in the middle of a tropical environment. I mean, we are just built to be able to respond to hurricanes,’ DeSantis said.

‘We’ll survey the damage and get people on their feet. We’ll get through this.’

Milton also spawned at least 19 tornadoes, the governor said, causing damage in numerous counties and destroying around 125 homes, most of them mobile homes.

Meanwhile, officials in Sarasota said: ‘We know everyone is eager to see how our community fared following Hurricane Milton.

‘At this time, please stay where you are and continue to shelter in place. It is not safe to venture outside yet.’

Milton’s eye slammed into Siesta Key near Sarasota, about 70 miles (112 kilometres) south of Tampa, battering houses, overturning vehicles and sucking debris into the air.

The Sheriff of St. Lucie County revealed that ‘multiple fatalities’ were caused when the area was ravaged by a tornado heralding Milton’s arrival.

They died when the twisters hit the Spanish Lakes Country Club in Fort Pierce, where many had been sheltering.

After making landfall, Milton began rumbling east, ripping up everything in its path before tearing apart the roof of Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg.

Shocking images showed gaping holes in the fabric that serves as the domed building’s roof, suggesting the stadium may well have been ravaged.

Meanwhile, a tower block housing the offices of the Tampa Bay Times suffered massive damage when a crane was toppled and smashed into its facade, ripping through several stories and sending debris tumbling into the streets below.

At least 117 tornado warnings were issued in communities across the state overnight and into this morning, with dozens reported to have materialised and wrought havoc.

Dr Steven Godby, an expert in natural hazards in Nottingham Trent University, explained Florida’s building codes mean the majority of structures are built to withstand incredible forces – but he said there are thousands of houses that could’ve sustained significant damage.

‘With Milton making landfall to the south, Tampa Bay appears thankfully to have escaped its worst-case scenario with respect to storm surge but considerable wind damage is likely to have been sustained and the area has some of the highest density housing in Florida.

‘Building codes introduced across the state following the devastation brought by Hurricane Andrew in 1992 have made a real difference but it is estimated that over 800,000 homes in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties were built before the adoption of more robust, wind-resistant construction.’

Source: Dailymail

Ray is one of dozens of reporters out and about in the horrendous weather conditions attempting to give a sense to viewers of what the conditions are like as the storm swirls about them.

While many other networks had their reporters safely in hotels or sheltered by nearby buildings, Ray was truly out in the elements and completely exposed as he felt the full force of Milton.

Ray was introduced by the anchor, noting how he was going to demonstrate what ‘an extreme weather warning looks like’.

‘That is why I am standing here, and you know something this is an historic storm and this is part of the documentation will also hopefully show people to evacuate. You don’t want to be in this,’ warned a drenched Ray, shouting into the microphone as he struggled to be heard.

‘You don’t want to be in your home if it’s not structurally confident. We’re going to see a lot of those issues tomorrow, especially in mobile homes,’ Ray explained.

‘This is why we are showing the fury of Milton. The menacing fury of Milton, no doubt the toughest winds I’ve experienced this entire season and I hope this is the end.’

Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast on Wednesday night, striking a little sooner and further south than forecast.

The storm made landfall around 8:30pm as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120mph near Siesta Key, the U.S. National Hurricane Center said.

Siesta Key is a barrier island town of some 4,500 off Sarasota about 60 miles south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which is home to more than 3 million people.

Milton also spawned at least 19 tornadoes, causing damage in numerous counties, and destroyed around 125 homes, most of them mobile homes.

The Hurricane Center labeled it an ‘extremely dangerous’ storm capable of deadly storm surge, ferocious winds and flash flooding across Central Florida.

No fatalities had yet been reported, but people were warned against venturing outside.

‘At this point, it’s too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down,’ DeSantis said upon announcing the landfall.

The storm was expected to cross the Florida peninsula overnight and emerge into the Atlantic, still with hurricane force, on Thursday.

Once past Florida, it should weaken over the western Atlantic, possibly dropping below hurricane strength on Thursday night, but will nonetheless pose storm-surge danger on the state’s Atlantic coast as well.

Source: Dailymail

The classification marks only the speed of Milton’s wind gusts, as forecasters warned that the storm is set to be one of the worst in recent memory.

It has already brought maximum wind speeds of 120mph, and its rain bands have caused at least five confirmed tornadoes to touch down in southwest Florida – which one sheriff has claimed caused ‘multiple fatalities.’

More than a million were also left without power as of 10pm, while the National Weather Service declared a Flash Flood Emergency in the Tampa Bay area.

But authorities say the greatest danger Milton will bring is the wall of water, known as storm surge. It was initially feared to be 15-feet tall, though forecasters now believe the storm surge will be a still record-breaking 12-feet in height.

Terrifying drone camera footage even caught massive, 28-foot waves caused by the hurricane.

The waves are approximately 28.12 feet – longer than a London bus and four times as tall as Andre the Giant – and feature wind gusts just over 75 miles per hour.

The video is part of a program with the drone-makers, Saildrone, in an ‘effort to better understand and predict devastating events like Hurricane Milton.’

Almost six million Floridians were urged to evacuate ahead of the storm, with officials advising anyone who doesn’t leave to write their names on their legs so authorities could identify their bodies.

But some were seen Wednesday visiting Universal Studios resort in Orlando – trying to make the most of the hours before Milton made landfall.

Footage of residents enjoying themselves while ignoring evacuation warnings drew contempt across social media, with one person sharing a selfie at the Key West landmark and questioning: ‘What are you doing man?’

In another video that left social media users furious, an influencer said she was ‘going to die’ because she was too stubborn to evacuate her home during the storm.

The Florida Department of Health has now deployed over 200 emergency response vehicles, according to the governor’s website.

Source: Dailymail

The horrifying footage, posted on Instagram by Abc7ny, shows a Hurricane Milton-related tornado raging through the sky in Wellington, Florida.

Powerlines are seen brightly bursting as the tornado tore them apart. Cars in the video sped away from the unexpected sparks.

TECO Energy, which provides electricity to West Central Florida, urges residents to stay away from fallen powerlines and to stay out of floodwaters because they conceal powerlines.

People should unplug non-essential electric equipment to protect themselves from hazardous power surges.

When using portable generators, TECO said to plug appliances directly into them and not to connect generators to a home’s circuits.

Generators need to stay outdoors because they can caused carbon monoxide gases to build up.

Another company, Duke Energy Florida, emphasized the importance of electrical safety during these dangerous times.

‘Despite extensive system improvements and rigorous tree trimming, the strong winds and flooding will cause power outages. Customers should expect significant damage and make immediate preparations for extended power outage durations,’ Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida’s storm director, said in a statement.

Hurricane Milton made landfall as a category 3 storm on Wednesday night.

The classification marks only the speed of Milton’s wind gusts, as forecasters warned that the storm is set to be one of the worst in recent memory when hurricane-force winds hit the coast later today.

Floridians have already been hit with heavy rainfall and a potent tornado outbreak that brought at least 90 tornado warnings across the state on Wednesday.

Winds on land already reported at over 120 miles per hour and several inches of rain fallen and a ‘catastrophic’ flooding situation developing in Tampa Bay.

Tornadoes touched down in the Everglades and Fort Myers. Forecasters warn more could appear across central and southern Florida.

The greatest danger is posed by the wall of water, known as a storm surge, that Milton will whip up. Initially feared to be fifteen feet tall, forecasters now believe the storm surge will be a still record-breaking 12 feet in height.

The NOAA posted terrifying drone camera footage showing massive, 28-foot waves caused by Hurricane Milton.

The waves are approximately 28.12 feet – longer than a London bus and four times as tall as Andre the Giant – and feature wind gusts just over 75 miles per hour.

The video is part of a program with the drone-makers, Saildrone, in an ‘effort to better understand and predict devastating events like Hurricane Milton.’

Emergency efforts have been rolled out across the state, as people have been advised to evacuate.

The Florida Department of Health deployed over 200 emergency response vehicles, according to the governor’s website.

Florida residents who refused to leave their homes have been advised to write their names on their legs so authorities could identify their bodies.

Millions of people across Florida are locked in a desperate race against time to evacuate before the ‘storm of the century’ smashes into Tampa late tonight, with officials warning that those choosing to stay and ride out Hurricane Milton would be left to fend for themselves.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor urged locals to evacuate before the 15 feet of storm surge forecast to hit her city submerges entire properties. She has repeatedly warned those who are refusing to leave that they could die in their homes.

Source: Dailymail

Posting to her Instagram Story Tuesday night from her new Florida home, Calloway detailed the full extent of her predicament.

‘So if you’ve been following Hurricane Milton, um, I’m going to die! It’s supposed to make landfall in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. I’m in Sarasota, I live on the water, it’s zone A, mandatory evacuation,’ she said.

Calloway then attempted to explain why she didn’t get out of her home in time for the storm.

‘I can’t drive, first of all. Second of all, the airport is close. Third of all, the last time I evacuated for a hurricane, I went to my mom’s house in Northport for Hurricane Ian,’ she said.

‘Her whole street flooded and we were evacuated after three days without power or running water by the U.S. military,’ Calloway revealed.

‘It was very traumatic and so I don’t want to evacuate to my mom’s house because the last time I did that, it was the worst time ever!’

She then said that she was holed down with her cat with a bathtub full of ‘backup water.’

‘We have food but it’s kind of scary and… yeah, I’ll keep you guys updated,’ she finished, before posting video of Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor saying that if you don’t evacuate, “you will die.”‘

Calloway notoriously paid for followers on Instagram, and defrauded hundreds of fans with ‘creative workshops’ that never materialized before bolting to Florida where she says she’s ‘not f***ed someone who can read in over two years’.

In 2015, her large Instagram following helped her secure a six-figure book deal but she failed to deliver, branding its premise ‘sexist’, but offering the first seven chapters for sale on Etsy.

Then her ghostwriter Natalie Beach wrote a bombshell essay in The Cut.

The essay coincided with the suicide of Calloway’s father, and Calloway told followers on Instagram Stories she was struggling with depression, anxiety, and Adderall addiction, while consumed with existential questions about why she was alive.

Still needing to pay off the advance on the book she had not written, she opened an OnlyFans account in 2020 claiming that Playboy had commissioned a photoshoot with her.

She told Harvard’s Crimson Magazine she imagined her subscribers to be ‘boys who went to Princeton and now work on Wall Street and who think I would have been mean to them in middle school’.

But her subscribers were not enough to stop her being evicted from her West Village apartment by a landlord who sued her for $40,000 and damage to the building.

That summer a BBC documentary ‘My Insta Scammer Friend’ dealt her reputation another blow as former followers detailed their abusive relationship with her.

‘I was 10 out of 10 obsessed with Caroline Calloway,’ Genevieve Wheeler told the program-makers.

‘She would like your posts and it felt like Christmas morning. It was the greatest thing in the world.’

‘I would definitely say I was addicted,’ said Caitlin Vickers. ‘I wanted to be living that life so much.’

She told followers she wanted them to ‘grow old with me’ and watch her fall in love and get married.

But many lost money on her ‘creativity workshops’ and were devastated when Calloway revealed her mercenary side shortly before quitting social media in 2021.

‘Do you know hard it is to conjure fame and money out of thin air?’ she demanded. ‘And I’m f***ing killing it.

‘Big picture: I want fame, power and money and people talking about me is part of that.’

She transferred from NYU to Cambridge with Beach, who admitted she was dazzled by ‘the most confident girl I’d ever known’.

‘She seemed like an adult, someone who had just gone ahead and constructed a life of independence. I, meanwhile, was a virgin with a meek ponytail, living in a railroad apartment that was sinking into the Gowanus Canal,’ she wrote.

‘She was constantly calling me her best friend and work wife, telling me she loved me. I thought we were in this together.’

But Calloway later admitted she had been turned on by Beach’s account of being sexually assaulted, and cruelly compared her figure to that of a pot-bellied man she had had sex with.

Three years later she was likened to notorious Fyre Festival conman Billy McFarland after selling $165 tickets to a nationwide ‘Creativity Workshop Tour’, which promised tutorials on building an Instagram brand, developing ideas, and addressing ‘the emotional and spiritual dimensions of making art’.

But most of the events were cancelled with Calloway urging some ticket buyers in Philadelphia to get on a train to New York for one of the few that went ahead.

‘It was this sickening feeling,’ fan Abigail Scott said. ‘A lightbulb went off … She was just looking at her fans as a way to make money.’

Relocating to Sarasota in Florida she cashed in on her reputation with a 2023 memoir called Scammer in which she described the plaque she hoped would one day sit outside her former New York apartment.

Sold through her revived Instagram account and self-published through her imprint Dead Dad publishing it was well received by reviewers with the New Yorker describing it as ‘funny, engaging, and full of genuine insight’.

She told the Crimson she expects it to be the first of a trilogy of ‘juvenilia’ answering her critics before she tries to put her past behind her.

‘It’s been terrible for my reputation,’ she said. ‘I mean, people finally know that I’m not a scammer now. How am I supposed to keep up my reputation when people are out here slandering my name?’

Earlier this month she told the No Jumper podcast she was only dating men who know nothing about her past, but she ‘hates’ them.

She’s now in the path of Hurricane Milton, which churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving.

The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.

The National Hurricane Center predicted Milton, a monstrous Category 5 hurricane during much of its approach, would likely weaken but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday.

Source: dailymail

Mohammed placed six enormous straps around his one-story home in a bid to keep it from washing or blowing away when the storm hits.

The bright yellow straps went over the roof and attached into the ground on both sides.

‘Viewer Mohammed Nijem is getting prepped for Hurricane Milton,’ the publication wrote, alongside a photo of his contraption.

The post, which was viewed more than 1.8 million times, left many social media users fascinated.

He became an internet sensation thanks to the ‘legendary’ idea, as many social media users said they were impressed with his efforts

Some said they were impressed with his efforts, branding him as a ‘legend’ and praising him for ‘thinking outside the box.’

Others admitted that they were now invested and needed to know if his idea actually worked.

‘This is the most Florida thing I’ve ever seen,’ one person joked.

‘Everyone is laughing now, but this man will be a legend when all the other houses are floating down the road and he’s sitting in his new living room swimming pool watching TV powered by a Starlink terminal,’ wrote someone else.

‘I actually respect the effort. I hope it is effective,’ added another user.

‘He’s thinking outside the box, need more folks like him…’ read a fourth tweet.

A fifth said, ‘Bro secured his house like a piano when moving. Absolute legend.’

‘Gangster move,’ someone else simply tweeted.

‘I mean maybe he’s on to something,’ said a different user.

Hurricane Milton has already started to impact Florida, bringing rain and high winds on its steady and potentially catastrophic march toward the west coast of Florida.

Forecasters expect Milton to make landfall at about 11pm EST as a Category 4 hurricane with winds of 130mph.

The greatest danger is posed by the wall of water, known as a storm surge, that Milton will whip up – which forecasters now believe will be a record-breaking 12 feet in height.

Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders across 11 Florida counties with a population of about 5.9 million people – and warned that anyone staying behind must fend for themselves.

Source: dailymail

The Sun Princess was due to dock in Port Everglades, Fort Lauderdale, yesterday but after increasing warnings for Hurricane Milton across Florida, the ship stayed off the coast.

Ports in South Florida, including Tampa and Sarasota, were closed yesterday ahead of the hurricane as thousands race to evacuate the area.

Ezra Freeman, who works aboard the ship, posted an update on Facebook sharing the status of the cruise, she said: ‘We were meant to arrive in Ft Lauderdale today to round out our transatlantic crossing, but due to these devastating hurricanes, all ports in South Florida have been closed until further notice.’

The ship was eight miles off the coast to medically evacuate passengers on a helicopter after ports in South Florida have restricted access

Freeman said: ‘Morale on board is high, and I’m praying for all of those who are in line of the hurricanes and the devastation, as well as the guests who evacuated today’

The ship pulled up just eight miles next to the port in order to medically disembark three guests onboard by helicopter, according to Freeman. After the first helicopter evacuation, emergency services switched to tender boat transportation, she added.

The Sun Princess was on track to finish their first transatlantic crossing after her debut in February 2024.

Through X on Monday evening, Princess Cruises said: ‘Due to the Hurricane Milton’s approach to Florida, the U.S Coast Guard has restricted ship access to all ports in South Florida effective at midnight tonight including Fort Lauderdale, where we were scheduled to disembark on Tuesday.’

Princess Cruises said: ‘Due to the Hurricane Milton’s approach to Florida, the U.S Coast Guard has restricted ship access to all ports in South Florida effective at midnight tonight including Fort Lauderdale, where we were scheduled to disembark on Tuesday’

Source: dailymail

The National Hurricane Center says the storm made landfall at Siesta Key, Florida, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico near Sarasota, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour.

Already, over a million people in the region are without power due to the storm. Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor told CNN ‘the next few hours are going to be rough here.’

The storm is bringing rain and high winds at the Tampa Bay on its steady and potentially catastrophic march toward the west coast of Florida, where officials sounded urgent warnings for residents to evacuate or face grim odds of survival.

Apparent tornadoes touched down in the Everglades and Fort Myers. Forecasters warn more could appear across central and southern Florida.

The greatest danger is posed by the wall of water, known as a storm surge, that Milton will whip up. Initially feared to be fifteen feet tall, forecasters now believe the storm surge will be a still record-breaking 12 feet in height.

Hurricane Milton makes landfall on the coast of Florida

Hurricane Milton has made landfall as a Category 3 storm on the west coast of Florida , the fifth hurricane to make landfall in the United States in 2024.

The National Hurricane Center says the storm made landfall at Siesta Key, Florida, a barrier island in the Gulf of Mexico near Sarasota, with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles per hour.

The five storms to make landfall in 2024 are more than the years 2021 through 2023 combined.

Florida already underwater with terrifying footage showing monster storm surge swallowing whole suburbs as Hurricane Milton’s ferocious eyewall nears the coast

Florida is already beginning to flood in at least six inches of rain as Hurricane Milton lands ashore and the storm surge is already 3.7 feet above typically dry ground.

The National Hurricane Center has revealed that the storm is 20 miles southwest of Sarasota.

The National Weather Service has declared a Flash Flood Warning for much of the Tampa area until 10:45 p.m. Already, over three inches of rain have fallen in the past three hours. Hurricane gusts were reported at around 89 miles per hour at the Tampa-St. Petersburg Airport.

The Weather Prediction Service said: ‘An axis of extreme rainfall, stretching from the Tampa metropolitan region northeastward into the north-central Florida Peninsula, is expected to result in major to locally catastrophicflash flooding with considerable threats to life and property.’

They added that some locations could face an inch of water per hour for the coming two to four hours.

It will likely cause ‘rapid rises of water above the surface as water will not have sufficient time to drain, especially across the mostly impervious surfaces of the St. Petersburg into the Tampa metro and possibly nearing Orlando later tonight.’

Weather Channel anchor Jim Cantore could be seen standing in several inches of water in Charlotte Harbor, just 100 miles south of Tampa Bay.

Terrifying footage shows giant waves headed for Florida

The NOAA posted terrifying drone camera footage showing massive, 28-foot waves caused by Hurricane Milton.

The waves are approximately 28.12 feet – longer than a London bus and four times as tall as Andre the Giant – and feature wind gusts just over 75 miles per hour.

The video is part of a program with the drone-makers, Saildrone, in an ‘effort to better understand and predict devastating events like Hurricane Milton.’

Source: dailymail