At least 16 people have died after Florida was hit by Hurricane Milton, amid fears the death toll will rise as rescue crews sift through floodwaters and debris. More than two million people remain without power as evacuated residents begin to return home.

Siesta Key

Hurricane Milton has made landfall as a Category Three system, causing tornadoes and widespread damage across parts of Florida.

Hurricane Milton

Rescue efforts are ongoing in Florida following the devastation caused by Hurricane Milton, which resulted in the deaths of at least 16 people. The hurricane's impact left more than two million people without power, complicating efforts for residents returning home. In St. Lucie County, severe destruction has been reported, with several individuals recounting harrowing encounters with tornadoes that accompanied the hurricane.

Shane Ostrander and his wife narrowly avoided disaster by seeking shelter in a closet as a tornado struck near Fort Pierce. Despite surviving, the Ostranders faced total destruction of their home. Another resident, Robin Longton of Spanish Lakes Country Club Village, experienced a similar ordeal when a tornado ripped off her mobile home's roof. Longton's survival story stands in stark contrast to the tragedy faced by families like that of Alejandro Alonso, who lost his life along with his girlfriend when their home was hit.

The St. Lucie County Sheriff's office has been heavily affected, with considerable damage to its facilities. Yet, the focus remains on search and rescue operations for those still unaccounted for. Meanwhile, in Dover and other regions east of Tampa, rescuers are employing ropes to guide stranded residents to safety through knee-high waters. Despite the challenges, the rescue teams are dedicated to recovering and saving as many people as possible in the aftermath of this natural disaster.



Hurricane victims return to devastation in Florida

As rescue efforts continue across Florida, survivors still reeling from the destruction left by powerful Hurricane Milton. In hard-hit St. Lucie County, Shane Ostrander, his wife Nicole and their dog, had to scramble into a closet when a tornado hit them near Fort Pierce on Wednesday. He describes when the twister slammed into their house. Heard two bombs. Boom. Boom. Ears ringing. Insulation everywhere. Shane says when he opened his closet door, he realized he had lost everything. I walked the dog this morning, and that's when it hits me. Like, when I see the neighbors with terrible damage. This whole neighborhood has been devastated, and I haven't even left this street yet. Robin Longton lives in the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village neighborhood where at least six people died. She hunkered down and held on as a tornado tore off the roof of her mobile home. I literally felt it lift up off the ground, and it jerked back down. And when I opened the door from the safe room, my roof was gone. Robin was able to save her cats and two parakeets, but is still coming to grips with the loss of her home. Devastating, scary, definitely life-changing. Others in the same senior community could not escape. 66-year-old Alejandro Alonso's grandson tells CNN that Alejandro and his girlfriend were killed. The grandson describes Alejandro as an amazing grandfather and a motorcycle lover. It was literally a tornado that was in my house. For those who survived, it's still surreal. This woman hid in her bathroom as a tornado tore off her roof. It was very life-threatening. I felt like I was about to die. Even the county sheriff's building was not spared. As you can see here, it destroyed this building, crumpled the red iron metal, destroyed lots of our vehicles. St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson told us the focus now is on rescues. We're not going to stop until we're able to, you know, rescue or recover as many people as we can. Where's everybody at? East of Tampa, rescuers wade through knee-high waters to evacuate people inside homes in Dover, guiding them with a rope, one by one, to safety. I got you. A 91-year-old woman carried out of floodwaters in Lithia. Got it. We're good. This 77-year-old rode out the hurricane in his mobile home in St. Petersburg. For the few years that I got left, I'd like to stay here. And others slowly picking up the pieces. I got to start all over again, you know. Everything I had there is no good. And to give you a stark illustration of how horribly fickle and temperamental tornadoes are, take a look at the scene behind me versus the house next to it. This is Shane Ostrander's house. You can see almost all of it is gone. We pan over here to my left, to your right, only about 50 feet. Take a look at that house. There's some roof damage, but you can see it's basically structurally intact. That is the difference between having a house and having no house about 50 feet in a tornado.

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Hurricane Milton