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, bringing sustained winds of 120mph, the Miami-based NHC said.
The centre said earlier that the storm has the “potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes” the area has ever seen.
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It is expected to bring a deadly storm surge to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas such as Tampa, St Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers.
Siesta Key is located in Sarasota County, fewer than five miles south of Sarasota city.
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Once past Florida, it should weaken over the west of the Atlantic Ocean, possibly dropping below hurricane strength on Thursday night, but storm-surge’s will still pose a threat to the state’s Atlantic coast.
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.
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