Hurricane Milton spawns tornado outbreak in Florida ahead of landfall
Hurricane Milton has spawned a destructive tornado outbreak, with dozens of reported twisters on Wednesday ahead of landfall.
Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida's west coast Wednesday night, likely as a Category 3 hurricane. Conditions in the state have begun to deteriorate as residents brace for life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rain along with the tornado threat.
There have been more than 30 reported tornadoes across the Florida peninsula as of Wednesday evening. Multiple tornadoes have been confirmed in South Florida so far, including the Miami-Dade area.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said there have been 116 tornado warnings issued on Wednesday, with 19 confirmed touchdowns.
"Numerous counties have reported tornado damage," he said during a press briefing Wednesday evening.
DeSantis said he has not received reports of any fatalities due to tornadoes.
An estimated 125 homes have been destroyed amid the "life-threatening" tornado outbreak, according to Kevin Guthrie, the head of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Florida's east coast has had "a lot of tornadic activity" that has resulted in structural collapses, he said during the press briefing.
Based on preliminary information, about 125 homes have been destroyed, "most of them mobile homes and senior communities," Guthrie said.
"So we're trying to get into Florida's most vulnerable to make sure they're taken care of," he added.
Damage from apparent tornadoes was reported in cities including Fort Myers and Cape Coral, including homes with roofs ripped off.
The St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office headquarters in Fort Pierce also sustained damage from a possible tornado, Sheriff Keith Pearson said.
"All of our deputies are safe," Pearson said in a video statement posted Wednesday afternoon while urging residents to stay inside. "This is a very serious storm."
Several tornado warnings were ongoing across the eastern Florida peninsula. Officials urged residents to adhere to the warnings as the tornado threat continued and to stay inside ahead of the anticipated landfall.
"It's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down," DeSantis said.
