Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (2024)

By NBC News

What we know about Hurricane Milton

  • Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm at 8:30 p.m. ET yesterday near Siesta Key, Florida, a barrier island next to Sarasota. The storm has since moved out to sea.
  • At least 12 people have been confirmed dead in the storm's aftermath, including six deaths in St. Lucie County on Florida's Atlantic coast, where officials said tornadoes touched down.
  • Some 11 million people were at risk of flash and river flooding and a record number of tornadoes caused widespread damage yesterday.
  • More than 3.4 million energy customers were without electricity in Florida around 11:50 a.m. ET, according to poweroutage.us.
  • President Joe Biden said he pre-deployed thousands of federal personnel to areas affected by the storm, including more than 1,000 Coast Guard members.
  • NBC News Lite, a lightweight version of NBCNews.com available in emergency situations when internet connectivity may be limited, has been turned on for readers in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.

Tampa General Hospital is open and accepting patients

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (1)

Gabriella Rudy

Tampa General Hospital remains open as emergency response teams are activated to support communities impacted by Hurricane Milton, the hospital said.

"Preparing for Hurricane Milton was an incredible effort by the entire team and a true test of our resources, but it ensured we could continue to provide exceptional care for our patients in a high-quality, safe and uninterrupted environment before, during and after the storm," said John Couris, president and CEO of Tampa General Hospital.

Tampa General is the region's only Level I Trauma Center and is accepting patient transfers as needed.

One-two punch of Helene and Milton seen in Bradenton Beach

Jesse Kirsch

Reporting from Bradenton Beach, Florida

NBC News was allowed on Bradenton Beach, a barrier island off Florida's west coast, giving our crew the chance to see what the beach town looks like after the combined forces of hurricanes Helene and Milton.

Video shows homes knocked over and in shambles, with one destroyed house now down the block from where it once stood, thanks to the storm surge from Helene.

Downed trees and puddles of muddy water line the streets in the area that has been ravaged by back-to-back storms.

Thankfully, officials believe there were no people on the island during Milton.

Florida officials tell people it's not time to go out yet, flooding continues

Carla Kakouris-Solarana

Antonio Planas

Carla Kakouris-Solarana and Antonio Planas

Although Hurricane Milton has exited the state, Florida officials urged residents to stay inside in areas seeing major flooding.

Flooding continues in Hillsborough County, on Florida’s west coast; St. Johns, near Jacksonville and the Little Wekiva River in the Orlando region, said Kevin Guthrie,Florida Division of Emergency Management Director.

Guthrie said water levels in those areas are continuing to rise. A storm surge is also expected along the east coast, Guthrie said.

“Roadways are flooded, and the potential for hazardous conditions with them still exists. Please do not walk or drive through them,” Guthrie said.

He added that people should not visit impacted areas because they are inhibiting first responders from doing their jobs.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said this afternoon that at least 340 people and 49 pets have been rescued. He said hundreds of rescuers are involved in missions in 26 counties.

Punta Gorda resident: 'I never expected it to be this bad'

Dana Griffin

Reporting from Punta Gorda, Florida

Punta Gorda, Florida, resident Patti Drew says she never expected the damage to her home from Hurricane Milton to be as bad as it is.

"It’s horrible, she said. "Hope we can get it back to liveable."

Family member Deborah Drew added that Patti has no flood insurance and is on a fixed income. "She’s devastated," Deborah Drew said. "She can’t live in this."

Deborah added that Patti had already "lost everything" after Hurricane Helene hit Florida.

"Now whatever she got fixed up and repaired and put back together is gone again," Deborah said.

Surveying the flooded streets of South Daytona by airboat

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (3)

Chase Cain

Reporting from Daytona, Florida

The Volusia County sheriff took NBC News on an airboat through one of the many flooded neighborhoods in South Daytona.

Water appears to be feet deep, with it reaching more than halfway up a stop sign pole and the trunks of trees.

A large truck was able to drive through the floodwaters, with the water reaching up to the top of its tires, but it would have been impossible for normal cars to move through this.

Port St. Lucie resident describes 'devastation' after tornadoes ripped through city yesterday

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (4)
Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (5)

Priscilla Thompson

Kayla McCormick

Priscilla Thompson and Kayla McCormick

Reporting from Port St. Lucie, Florida

John Carson and his wife live in Port St. Lucie, Florida, and were in town yesterday when numerous tornadoes tore through the area. He said they were hunkering down in anticipation of Milton, but weren't expecting "all of the alerts" throughout the day notifying them that tornadoes were in the area and could potentially hit them.

Suddenly, at around 3 p.m., Carson heard sirens going off, letting him know something was happening. He said he grabbed his wife and they went into the bathroom in the interior of their home as the storms touched down.

Carson said he could feel the pressure and force of the wind and heard whistling for about a minute and a half all from the inside of their home.

When it stopped and they walked outside, the neighborhood was annihilated, Carson said. Trees were uprooted, water was pouring down the driveway, the windows on Carson's vehicle were smashed, roof tiles blew into cars and windows everywhere were blown out.

"Just devastation," Carson said, describing the shock of what he saw as "surreal." He added that when you walk through his neighborhood, "it's night and day difference how it was before."

Emotionally, Carson said he's happy they survived. He also said he was happy to see the National Guard, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office and Florida State Wildlife Commission there helping with the cleanup and recovery effort.

This was Carson's first experience living through a hurricane, he said, and noted that he took preparations the night before that he said thinks "gave me the opportunity to have this conversation with you today."

Florida resident: ‘Everyone’s windows are busted on my block’

NBC News

Palm Beach Gardens resident Roy Schultheis detailed the moment he experienced a tornado barrel through his neighborhood before Hurricane Milton touched down. Schultheis said the windows started vibrating and he could see tiles being ripped off houses.

‘Lieutenant Dan’ survives Hurricane Milton in a sailboat

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (6)

Matt Lavietes

Sophia PargasSophia Pargas is a news associate for NBC News.

Matt Lavietes and Sophia Pargas

Reporting from TAMPA, Florida

TAMPA, Fla. — Joseph Malinowski, who has been dubbed “Lieutenant Dan” on social media, has survived record-breaking Hurricane Milton on his 20-foot sailboat.

Malinowski, 54, who drewnationwide interest and concernover his highly publicized decision to ride out hurricanes Helene and Milton on his vessel, chose to remain in the boat here despite several attempts from officials to safely evacuate him. Followers offered Malinowski shelter — both in nearby hotels and in their own homes — which he turned down.

Malinowski skyrocketed to national consciousness after TikTok creator Terrence Concannon posted a series of videos about his experience riding out Hurricane Helene.

Read the full story here.

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (8)

Disney World and Universal Studios will reopen tomorrow

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (9)

Gabriella Rudy

Disney World and Universal Studios will both reopen tomorrow, the Orlando, Florida, area theme parks announced.

Disney World said all of its theme parks, along with the Disney Springs shopping center, will resume operations Friday.

Universal Orlando said they will return to normal operations Friday across all theme parks, including Universal Studios, CityWalk and Halloween Horror Nights.

Universal Orlando is owned by NBCUniversal, the parent company of NBC News.

Over 10,000 federal staff supporting hurricane response, Homeland Security chief says

Daniella Silva

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said this afternoon that more than 10,000 federal staff were on the ground supporting the response to hurricanes Helene and Milton across the southeast.

“Every available resource is being deployed as fast as possible to impacted communities, and we will not leave until the work is done. The same is true for communities devastated by Hurricane Helene,” he said during a briefing.

Mayorkas said that the federal government and FEMA has the capacity to help the communities impacted by both storms.

“I want to be clear, we have the capability and the capacity to respond to and recover from multiple, simultaneous disasters. No resources needed for Hurricane Helene response will be diverted to respond to Hurricane Milton,” he added.

Tampa International Airport to reopen tomorrow

Antonio Planas

Tampa International Airport announced it will reopen tomorrow.

The airport, which remains closed today because of Hurricane Milton, will open its doors to travelers tomorrow at 8 a.m., the airport posted on X.

Airport officials urge travelers to check with their airlines for the latest flight updates.

Biden tells Trump to ‘get a life’ and ‘help these people’ impacted by Milton

NBC News

President Biden gave an update on the federal government’s response to Hurricane Milton, assuring he and Vice President Harris were in “constant contact” with state and local leaders. The president also continued to criticize those spreading “misinformation and lies” about the response efforts to this storm and Helene.

Tampa Bay bridges reopen after Milton sweeps through region

Austin Mullen

Antonio Planas

Austin Mullen and Antonio Planas

Multiple bridges in the Tampa area have reopened today after their closures yesterday when Hurricane Milton swept through the region.

The Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Howard Frankland Bridge and the Gandy Bridge have reopened, according to Sgt. Steve Gaskins with the Florida Highway Patrol.

The Courtney Campbell Causeway also reopened, Gaskins said.

Tampa Bay Rays 'fortunate and grateful' no one hurt at Tropicana Field

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (11)

David K. Li

John Filippelli

David K. Li and John Filippelli

The Tampa Bay Rays said they're in no hurry to determine to damage to their ballpark, Tropicana Field, inflicted by Hurricane Milton.

Nearly all the panels were blown off the domed stadium's roof last night or this morning as the storm passed through.

“Our priority is supporting our community and our staff. We are fortunate and grateful that no one was hurt by the damage to our ballpark last night," the team said in a statement this afternoon.

"Over the coming days and weeks, we expect to be able to assess the true condition of Tropicana Field. In the meantime, we are working with law enforcement to secure the building."


Milton death toll reaches 11

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (13)

Gabriella Rudy

The storm-related death toll from Milton in Florida has reached 11, according to a count by NBC News.

The most recent confirmed death occurred when a tree fell on a vehicle in Citrus County, killing the driver.

Pinellas County had two fatalities, Volusia County experienced three and St. Lucie County saw five, four of which were caused by tornadoes.

Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (14)

NBC News

David K. Li

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Daniella Silva

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Hurricane Milton live updates: At least 12 deaths confirmed after monster storm slams into Florida (2024)
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