Two weeks after Florida“>Hurricane Milton“>Hurricane Helene, the system also knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, ripped the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane.

But many people also expressed relief that the situation was not worse. The system spared Tampa a direct hit, and the deadly storm surge that scientists feared never materialized.

The system tracked south in the past few hours and made landfall Wednesday evening as a Category 3 storm at Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) south of Tampa. Damage was widespread and water levels could continue to rise for days, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not a “worst-case scenario.”

The worst storm surge appears to have been in Sarasota County, where it reached 8 to 10 feet — less than the worst location during Storm Helen.

See the report on the situation with Marie Poupart, journalist in Florida:

The storm also dumped up to 18 inches of rain in some areas, the governor said.

“We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day goes on,” added Mr. DeSantis. “We still have a lot to do, but we will absolutely get through this. »

Falling trees, stolen cars and record flooding

Authorities in Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee counties, hit hard by the storm, urged residents to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees on roads, blocked bridges and flooding. “We will let you know when it is safe to go out,” Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, insisted on Facebook.

Just inland from Tampa, flooding in Plant City was “absolutely stunning,” according to City Manager Bill McDaniel. Emergency crews rescued 35 people overnight, said McDaniel, who estimated the city received 34 cm of rain. “We have flooding in places and levels I’ve never seen, and I’ve lived in this community my whole life,” he exclaimed in a video posted online Thursday morning.

The small barrier island of Matlacha, just off Fort Myers, was hit by both a tornado and storm surge, and many of the colorful buildings in the fishing and tourist village suffered severe damage. A tornado picked up a car and threw it across the road. Elsewhere on the island, a house was blown onto a street, temporarily blocking it. Some structures caught fire.

By contrast, municipal workers on Anna Maria Island were grateful not to have to wade through floodwaters as they picked up debris Thursday morning, two weeks after Helene devastated buildings and washed away piles of sand up to 1.8 m high. Those piles may have helped protect homes from further damage, said Jeremi Roberts of the state emergency response team.

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Power was cut across much of the state, with more than 3.1 million homes and businesses without power, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.

The fabric covering the roof of Tropicana Field — home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg — was torn to shreds by high winds. Debris littered the field, but no injuries were reported.

State officials said they made more than 40 rescues overnight and that crews would go door-to-door in some areas Thursday. In Tampa, police said they rescued 15 people from a single-story home damaged by a falling tree.

“Our focus today is on search and rescue operations,” said Col. Mark Thieme, executive director of the Florida State Guard.

Deadly tornadoes

Jessie Schaper, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida, said it was too early to know exactly how many tornadoes touched down or how strong they were.

All five deaths from the tornado occurred at Spanish Lakes Country Club Village near Fort Pierce on Florida’s Atlantic coast, where homes were destroyed, authorities said.

See also: Arrival of Hurricane Milton: a tornado made landfall in Florida

Speaking at a White House briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said there were reports of 10 deaths from tornadoes, but he cautioned that number was preliminary. “It is our job to ensure that this number does not increase through courageous search and rescue efforts,” he recalled. Authorities had issued dire warnings to flee or face slim chances of survival.

About 90 minutes after making landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 2 storm. By Thursday afternoon, it was heading toward the Atlantic Ocean as a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 75 mph – barely the force of a hurricane.

Nearly 80,000 people spent the night in shelters and thousands more fled after authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders in 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people .

The storm hit a region still reeling from Hurricane Helen, which flooded streets and homes in western Florida and left at least 230 dead in the South.