The death toll from Hurricane Milton, which struck Florida earlier this week, has risen to at least 15 people, according to reports by ABC News.
The storm wreaked havoc across the state, leaving millions without power and causing large-scale damage, particularly in areas hit by tornadoes.
The fatalities include six people in St. Lucie County, where around a dozen tornadoes were reported, four in Volusia County, two in St. Petersburg, and one in Citrus County.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced that approximately 1,000 people have been rescued from the storm’s impacts so far.
However, recovery efforts continue, as more than 2.6 million residents remain without power.
According to PowerOutage.us, Highlands County in central Florida has the highest percentage of power outages.
FEMA's Assessment
Despite the widespread damage, FEMA Administrator Dean Criswell noted that the storm’s impact was not as devastating as initially feared.
"We didn’t see the extreme worst-case scenario that we were preparing for, but we still had a lot of people affected by it," Criswell said during a briefing in Sarasota.
A total of 38 tornadoes were reported across Florida, inflicting what Criswell described as "significant damage on a level that Floridians have never seen from a tornado." The tornadoes, coupled with Milton's powerful winds and storm surges, have left communities grappling with the aftermath.
Hurricane Milton, a Category 3 storm, made landfall near Siesta Key on Florida’s west coast at 8:30 p.m. local time on Wednesday.
