St Lucie County, on Florida's east coast, has confirmed four people have died after tornadoes hit the area.
"First responders and public works/utilities crews are conducting rescue and recovery efforts following two confirmed tornadoes that touched down prior to the arrival of Hurricane Milton," local authorities said. "The St. Lucie Coroner has confirmed four deaths as a result of these tornadoes."
St Petersburg Police Chief Anthony Holloway says one person died of a "medical" incident, while another was "found in a park".
"We have a hurricane-related accident with one victim," Sheriff Grady Judd told Fox13. "We're working on this case right now, which is in the Fort Meade area or the southern part of the county."
But the information is contradictory on the actual number of victims. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there were five deaths in St. Lucie County, although it's unclear if all of them were caused by the tornadoes in the area. There are also reports of other deaths elsewhere, but they have not been officially confirmed by the authorities.
US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas also told a White House briefing that the government had received reports of at least 10 deaths from Milton, adding that they appeared to be caused by the tornadoes. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the "worst-case scenario," although he warned that damage was still significant.
More than 3 million Florida homes and businesses were without power Thursday morning, according to PowerOutage.us. At least some of them had already been waiting for days for power to be restored after Hurricane Helene hit the area two weeks ago.
Milton tore the roof off Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg, but no injuries were reported. The stadium was a waiting area for emergency teams, with thousands of beds set up on the pitch.
In the Tampa area, the storm toppled trees, dumped debris on roads and downed power lines, local news video showed. Some neighborhoods were flooded, but the extent of the damage won't be known until crews can assess the damage, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a morning news conference.
President Joe Biden, who delayed an overseas trip to monitor the damage from Milton, spoke with local Florida leaders Thursday and pledged the federal government's full support.
The storm hit Florida's west coast late Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale, with sustained winds of more than 200 kilometers per hour. Although still a dangerous storm, Milton weakened from rare Category 5 status as it moved over the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.
Milton continued to weaken over land, downgrading to a Category 1 storm with sustained winds of 145 kilometers per hour as it made landfall on the east coast of the peninsula, the National Hurricane Center said. Thursday morning, the storm was moving away from Florida's Atlantic coast after battering communities on the Eastern Shore.
