Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida, the National Hurricane Center (NHC) has said.
The category 3 storm hit shores near Siesta Key in Sarasota County around 8.30pm local time on Wednesday, bringing sustained winds of 120mph, the Miami-based NHC said.
More than one million homes and businesses were without power – the highest of which were in Sarasota County and neighbouring Manatee County, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.
Hurricane Milton latest: Follow live updates
Milton could bring a deadly eight to 12ft storm surge (2.4-3.6m) to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
Speaking from the White House earlier on Wednesday, President Joe Biden said Milton is expected to be “one of the most destructive hurricanes in Florida in over a century”.
He said it carries “incredible destructiveness and can wipe out communities and cause loss of life” while urging everyone in its path to listen to the advice of local officials.
Within minutes of Milton making landfall, a gust of 100mph was recorded in the Egmont Channel, south of St Petersburg, according to the NHC.
‘Daylight will reveal the true impact’
Reporting from Tampa, as the storm made landfall 60 miles away, Sky News US correspondent James Matthews said you could feel its “devastating power”.
“You can hear it in the roar, and sense it. You can feel it in the wind,” he says.
“They have called this a historic hurricane. The strongest to hit this part of Florida for more than 100 years.
“Reduced from a category 5 to a category 3 storm by the time it hit, but that doesn’t mean that it is not extremely powerful, extremely dangerous, and will have, one imagines, a devastating impact.
“This is all happening in the hours of darkness, daylight will reveal the full impact of Hurricane Milton.”
Once past Florida, the storm should weaken over the west of the Atlantic Ocean, possibly dropping below hurricane strength on Thursday night, but storm-surges will still pose a threat to the state’s Atlantic coast.
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Why is Hurricane Milton shocking experts?
The region is still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which caused heavy damage to beach communities and killed a dozen people in seaside Pinellas County alone.
On Wednesday, officials issued last ditch attempts urging residents to flee or face slim chances of survival.
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Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, said: “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”
While Paul Womble, Polk County emergency management director, said: “Unless you really have a good reason to leave at this point, we suggest you just hunker down.”
