Hurricane Milton makes landfall as winds of 120mph slam into coast and Tampa hit by flash flooding

10 October 2024, 04:05

Hurricane Milton has made landfall in Florida, with 120mph winds along the coast and flash flooding.

Tornadoes were spotted across the state as it prepared for the Category 3 hurricane to make landfall on Wednesday.

Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, at around 8.30pm local time (1.30am UK time), with maximum sustained winds of 120mph, according to the National Hurricane Center.

It is still set to bring deadly storm surges to much of Florida's Gulf Coast, including Tampa and St Petersburg.

A Flash Flood Emergency was in effect for the Tampa Bay area as of 10pm local time on Wednesday.

It came after six inches of rain fell, with a further eight forecast later in the evening.

The dangerous conditions have left more than a million Americans without power, according to a utility tracker.

The highest number of outages were in Sarasota County and Manatee County.

Read more: LIVE: Hurricane Milton 'growing in size' as it nears coast as residents urged to shelter before 'storm of the century'

Read more: 'Worst storm in a century': Florida braces for Hurricane Milton after Category 5 storm barrels through Mexico

Earlier, President Joe Biden said getting out of Florida before the storm arrived was a matter of "life and death".

The National Hurricane Center said Milton is "growing in size" as it neared the west coast of Florida.

The water levels in the Naples Bay and Fort Myers are starting to rise, according to the NOAA.

Governor Ron DeSantis said the state deployed over 300 dump trucks that had removed 1,300 loads of debris left behind by Hurricane Helene.

Fluctuations in the storm's intensity are likely while Milton moves across the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Centre said, but it is expected to be a dangerous storm when it reaches Florida.