Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as category 3 storm - two million people without power

The dangerous conditions have led to the creation of a series of tornadoes around Florida. Winds have topped 120mph as it made landfall near Siesta Key, a strip of land home to 5,500 people located around 70 miles south of Tampa, at around 8.30pm local time.

There are still warnings in place surrounding gigantic storm surges in the Tampa Bay area. There are fears that densely-populated areas in the Gulf Coast, including Tampa, St Petersburg, Sarasota and Fort Myers, may be hit by the huge surges. Flooding is also predicted further inland as the storm being with it heavy rain.

More than two million homes and businesses were left without power on Wednesday evening (October 9), according to poweroutage.us. Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, added that around 125 homes were already destroyed before the storm even made landfall.

Hurricane Milton comes after parts of the state have only just grappled with Hurricane Helene. Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, told residents: “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”

Governor Ron DeSantis told Floridians in a news conference that multiple resources has been arrange to help with evacuations before the storms made landfall, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and other states, more than 50,000 utility workers from as far as California, and highway patrol cars with sirens escorting gas tankers. However, he warned: “Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don’t think there’s any way around that.”

Evacuation orders have been in place across 15 Florida counties, with 7.2 million people instructed to leave their homes. Officials added that those who do not comply with the evacuation order will be expected to fend for themselves as first responder will not be expected to risk their lives in dangerous areas at the height of the storm.

Flights to Florida from the UK have already been cancelled as a result of the extreme weather conditions. Tourist spots such as Disneyworld Orland and Universal Studios have also closed their doors.