Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'

AFP | Sarasota, United States

The Daily Tribune - www.newsofbahrain.com

Email: anchalo@newsofbahrain.com

Hurricane Milton carved a destructive path across Florida on Wednesday night, bringing widespread damage and deadly tornadoes but sparing the state from the catastrophic destruction officials had feared. The storm, a Category 3 hurricane, made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast with sustained winds, leaving four people dead and millions without power.

Despite the significant impact, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis stated, "This was not the worst-case scenario," during a press conference.

Milton struck a state still recovering from Hurricane Helene two weeks earlier. Across its path, roads were littered with fallen trees and power lines, with three million people without electricity as of Thursday morning.

In Sarasota, 72-year-old Kristin Joyce, who chose not to evacuate, surveyed the damage to her neighborhood. "This is very tragic, especially for an area reliant on tourism and real estate," she said. "It's a wake-up call for everyone about climate change."

Further north, the storm uprooted large trees and caused significant damage to Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, where a construction crane also toppled onto a nearby building. The state now faces a long recovery from this powerful storm.