Milton forced millions to evacuate and left widespread destruction.
At least 16 people have died from Hurricane Milton, which roared onshore on Florida's west coast as a Category 3 hurricane, bringing tornadoes, powerful winds and flooding rains. The monster storm forced millions to evacuate and left widespread destruction across Florida.
Video captured the moments deputies rescued eight people, including a child, from a house submerged in over 6 feet of floodwater in Dover, near Tampa, the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office said.
The entire family was safely evacuated, the sheriff’s office said.
Milton wreaked havoc on Hillsborough County, which encompasses Tampa, bringing over 1 foot of torrential rain, significant flash flooding and rough winds that downed trees and wires, Hillsborough County Fire Rescue Chief Jason Dougherty said.
Milton ‘caused havoc’ on our community: Hillsborough fire chief
Over 700 people were rescued on Thursday, Dougherty told ABC News Live.
And he warned that the danger isn’t over.
"Now we’re seeing our rivers crest, so that’s becoming a challenge, as well. So even as the storm has passed by, we’re still having rising waters," he said.
Dougherty urged residents to stay home and avoid surveilling the damage.
President Joe Biden will travel to Florida on Sunday to tour areas impacted by Hurricane Milton, the White House said. The White House has not yet released the cities the president will visit.
Hurricane Milton brought powerful winds and tons of rain to St. Pete Beach, just outside of St. Petersburg, along Florida’s west coast.
Milton struck as the city was still littered with debris from Hurricane Helene, Mayor Adrian Petrila told ABC News Live.
He said National Guardsmen returned to St. Pete Beach Thursday morning after Milton rolled through to clear downed power lines and downed trees from major roads to allow access back to the island.
But "the biggest thing is gonna be getting all the small side streets cleared off," the mayor said. "That’s gonna take days, if not weeks, to get everything cleared."
Milton recovery will take ‘a very long time’: St. Pete Beach mayor
Besides the debris, Petrila said, "Our sewer system is down, we don’t have potable water. At this point, most of the homes are not habitable," Petrila said.
"Florida is resilient," he added. "We’re going to rebuild, we’re going to come back."
