Sarasota, United States:
Hurricane Milton roared ashore in Florida Wednesday night with fierce winds, life-threatening rain and storm surge, as people who had weathered another hurricane just two weeks ago braced for a long, violent night.
The “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm made landfall near Siesta Key, in a densely populated area on the state’s west coast, the National Hurricane Center said in a bulletin at 8:30 pm (Thursday GMT).
“So the storm is here. It’s time for everyone to shelter in place,” Gov. Ron DeSantis told a news conference just before Milton’s arrival.
Life-threatening storm surges, extreme winds and flash flooding occurred across Florida’s central peninsula, the NHC said.
Tidal waves are expected to engulf West Florida’s densely populated and low-lying Gulf Coast amid fears of widespread chaos and possible fatalities.
Milton is later expected to tear through the inland towards the Atlantic Ocean, with the tourist hub of Orlando – home to Walt Disney World – in its path.
When it hit land, Milton was blowing sustained winds of 125 miles per hour, with the potential for as much as four feet of storm surge, the NHC said.
In cities along Florida’s west coast, winds howled violently and heavy rain fell as frightened people took shelter wherever they could.
In the city of Sarasota, near Siesta Key, gusts blew windows out of waterfront buildings. The streets were deserted. Trees swayed almost horizontally, barely resisting the wind. Businesses were closed and sandbagged.
On a wooden plank attached to a window of an old red-brick building, someone wrote, “Be kind Milton.”
Just before landfall, DeSantis said it was too late and too dangerous to evacuate anyone, so people should stay put and weather the storm wherever they were.
“Stay indoors and off the roads. Floodwaters and storm surge are very dangerous,” the governor said.
Tampa and Sarasota airports were closed until further notice.
‘The Other Storm’
Milton hit just two weeks after another major hurricane, Helene, hit Florida and other southeastern states with devastating and deadly consequences.
“I’m nervous. This is something we just experienced with the other storm – the ground is saturated and still recovering,” Randy Prior, a pool company owner, told AFP.
Prior, 36, says he plans to ride out the storm at home, having recently weathered Hurricane Helene, which caused flooding in Florida before wreaking havoc in remote areas further inland, such as western North Carolina.
The Weather Channel reported that “numerous tornadoes” touched down in central and southern Florida.
With the storm coming immediately after the deadly Helene hit the southeastern US, presidential candidate Donald Trump has sought political advantage by falsely saying that aid is being diverted away from residents, many of whom are supporters of his Republican Party, and towards migrants.
At the White House on Wednesday, President Joe Biden denounced the Republican former president and current candidate’s “onslaught of lies.”
“There has been a reckless, irresponsible and ruthless promotion of disinformation and outright lies,” Biden said in angry remarks.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running against Trump in the election, echoed Biden’s criticism in a separate telephone interview with CNN.
“It is dangerous and, quite frankly, unconscionable for anyone who considers themselves a leader to deceive desperate people into not getting the help they deserve,” she said.
In the southeastern United States, emergency responders are still struggling to provide aid after Helene, which killed at least 235 people.
Scientists say global warming plays a role in intense storms because warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, which provides extra energy for storms, making winds worse.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)