At least two people have been confirmed dead on Florida’s east coast after Hurricane Milton battered the state with 120mph winds and flooding.
The “catastrophic” storm has left more than two million homes and businesses without power.
Local officials in St Lucie County confirmed two fatalities, while several others have been hospitalised after tornadoes ravaged the area prior to Milton’s landfall.
Rescue teams are working to find individuals trapped in a retirement community in Fort Pierce, where hundreds of homes have been declared “completely destroyed.”
Forecasters warn that storm surge could reach up to 13ft in Orlando while flash flooding warnings are also in place across Tampa.
Horrifying video footage shows the severe damage Milton caused with a crane collapsing, part of a building in St Petersburg destroyed and the roof of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium being ripped off.
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What do we know so far?
Hurricane Milton struck Florida during the early hours of Thursday morning
Reuters
Hurricane Milton made landfall around 8.30pm EDT (00.30 GMT) on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120mph near Siesta Key, the US National Hurricane Center said.
By early Thursday, wind speeds reduced to 90mph, dropping Milton to a Category 1 hurricane, with heavy rains and damaging storm surges.
A flash flood emergency is in effect for the Tampa Bay area including the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater.
St Petersburg already received 16.6 inches (422 mm) of rain on Wednesday.
The eye of the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of some 5,400 off Sarasota about 60 miles south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which is home to more than 3 million people.
At least two deaths have been reported at a retirement community following a suspected tornado in Fort Pierce on the eastern coast of Florida.
St Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson estimated 100 homes were destroyed in the county where around 17 tornadoes touched down.
More than 2 million homes and businesses in Florida were without power, according to PowerOutage.us.
Milton is forecast to maintain hurricane intensity while crossing Florida later on Thursday morning but after moving into the Atlantic it is likely to gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken, the Hurricane Center said.
Transformers explode as Hurricane Milton strikes Florida
One person witnessed two transformers blow up in ten minutes in St Lucie County.
Flash flood warnings remain in place across parts of west and central Florida.
Strong winds tear roof off Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium
Tampa Bay Rays baseball stadium with a damaged roof
Reuters
The roof at Tropicana Field was destroyed as Hurricane Milton made landfall in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday.
Before the storm struck, the Rays said that the stadium was not being used as a shelter for residents.
However, it was set up as a staging area for first responders.
The roof of the stadium, according to the team’s media guide, is made of “six acres of translucent, Teflon-coated fiberglass and supports itself with 180 miles of cables connected by struts.”
It was designed to withstand winds of up to 115 mph.
Crane collapses into building during 120mph winds in St Petersburg