At least 10 people have been reported dead due to Hurricane Milton, which struck the southeastern U.S. state of Florida.
On the 10th (local time), Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, stated during a White House press briefing that he had been informed of at least 10 fatalities caused by Milton, which appeared to be due to tornadoes (strong whirlwinds). Notably, five deaths were confirmed in St. Lucie County on Florida's east coast. NBC News reported that the death toll was at least 12, two more than the figure announced by Secretary Mayorkas.
Earlier, Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. on the 9th on the Siesta Key coast in Sarasota County on Florida's west coast, then moved across the state. Along with the human casualties, approximately 3 million households and businesses experienced power outages, causing significant material damage.
In St. Lucie County on Florida's east coast, a tornado struck a mobile home community primarily inhabited by retirees, damaging around 100 homes and resulting in fatalities. In St. Petersburg, heavy rain and strong winds tore off the roof of Tropicana Field, the home stadium of the MLB's Tampa Bay Rays. Following damage caused by Hurricane Hermine at the end of last month, Florida state authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders for 15 counties and about 7.2 million residents in preparation for Milton's landfall.
However, before making landfall, Milton was expected to be the largest hurricane to hit Florida in history, but it is now assessed that the worst-case scenario was avoided. Milton was a Category 3 hurricane out of 5 at landfall but weakened to Category 2 within about 90 minutes and further weakened to Category 1 by early morning on the 10th. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said, "There was significant destruction and damage due to the storm," but added, "The storm was severe, but thankfully it did not turn out to be the worst-case scenario."
President Joe Biden, in a public statement that day, said, "Thirty-eight tornadoes swept through 13 counties," and noted that more than 80,000 people complied with evacuation orders the previous night, which helped reduce the scale of the damage.
President Biden also stated that, in coordination with the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense, rescue and recovery support is being provided in the affected areas, urging Congress to act swiftly to secure funding for recovery assistance.
Additionally, President Biden directly criticized former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, for spreading misinformation and lies related to hurricane damage recovery support.
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