Hurricane Milton passes Florida, kills 11

FORT PIERCE, Florida — At least 11 people died as Hurricane Milton sent tornadoes spinning across Florida, officials said on Thursday as the state grappled with flooding, power outages and other difficulties from a milder-than-expected storm that many had feared would be catastrophic.

The hurricane blasted across the state late on Wednesday before roaring into the Atlantic, leaving behind roads blocked by downed trees and power lines. It shredded the roof of a baseball stadium, while some three million homes and businesses were without power.

Governor Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the "worst-case scenario", though he cautioned the damage was still significant and flooding remained a concern.

The Tampa Bay area appeared to sidestep the storm surge that had prompted the most dire warnings, though the barrier islands along the shore south of the city endured extensive flooding.

The deaths are five in St. Lucie County, three in Volusia County two in the city of St. Petersburg and one in the city of Tampa, local authorities said. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told reporters the deaths were caused by the tornadoes.

Milton made landfall on the Florida Gulf Coast as a major Category 3 storm, with powerful winds smashing communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which hit only two weeks ago, killing 237 people in Florida and other southeast states.

Crystal Coleman, 37, and her 17-year-old daughter hid in the bathroom during the storm as a tornado began peeling the roof off her Lakewood Park house.

"It felt like I was in a movie," she said. "I felt like I was about to die."

Milton shredded the fabric roof of Tropicana Field, the stadium of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg, but there were no reported injuries. The ballpark was a staging area for responders, with thousands of cots set up on the field.

Out of power

As residents assessed damage to their property, over 2.5 million customers in Florida remained without power on Friday morning, according to poweroutage.us. But the state's vital tourism industry started to return to normal, with several theme parks preparing to reopen.

Orlando International Airport, the state's busiest, said departures for domestic and international flights would resume on Friday, after resuming domestic arrivals on Thursday evening. The airport had minor damage, including a few leaks and downed trees.

Agencies via Xinhua