Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as Category 3 storm

New York, Oct 10 (IANS) Hurricane Milton made its landfall along the west-central coast of Florida as a Category 3 storm, expected to inflict heavy losses and damage on the Sunshine State.

"Life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds, and flooding rains will continue to occur across portions of central and southwestern Florida," said an advisory by the National Weather Service on Wednesday night.

The State of Florida had over 1.4 million electric customers without power as of 10 p.m. Eastern Time, around 1.5 hours after the landing, according to PowerOutage.us, a website that tracks and records power outages across the country, reports Xinhua news agency.

A flash flood emergency was in effect for the Tampa Area, with a sustained wind of 119 km per hour and a gust of 157 km per hour reported at Middle Tampa Bay, according to an update by the National Hurricane Center at 10 p.m. Eastern Time.

It was reported that St. Petersburg, Florida, had over 9 inches (23 cm) of rainfall in three hours and more than 16 inches (40 cm) of rainfall in the past 24 hours.

Florida had more than 100 tornado warnings and 19 confirmed touchdowns on Wednesday, with damage reported in a number of counties, according to Florida Governor Ronald DeSantis.

Multiple people were killed in St. Lucie County, Florida, after a tornado outbreak hit the area, according to local reports.

Milton has weakened to a Category 2 storm, and its intensity was at Category 5 prior to its landing. Still, it is expected to remain a hurricane while it crosses the Florida Peninsula, warned the National Weather Service.

Milton became the fifth hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast so far in 2024, with three of them striking Florida.

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