Rescuers worked their way through the rubble after Hurricane Milton devastated several Florida communities, destroying homes in its path. A man was rescued while clinging to a refrigerator to avoid being swept away by the storm.
ADVERTISINGFlorida residents began to assess the serious damage left by the hurricane Miltonwhich killed at least eight people after making landfall in Florida on Wednesday night. The storm, which caused several deadly tornadoesalso left without electricity to more than three millions of people and destroyed thousands of properties.
Five people died near Fort Pierce after their homes were hit by the windsand the other deaths were attributed to falling trees.
In a dramatic scene, the crew of a helicopter rescued a man who had been clinging to a refrigerator in the Gulf of Mexico after their fishing boat became stranded in waters churned by Hurricane Milton. The man had survived waves of up to 7.6 meters while clinging to his boat overnight, according to the Coast Guard. The powerful winds also tore off the roof of a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane, although the cause is not yet known. full extent of damage in homes and businesses.
Despite his destructionsome expressed relief that the damage was not worse, since the hurricane did not affect the large city of Tampa and the deadly storm surge that scientists had warned of never materialized. The storm occurred just two weeks after the Hurricane Helenewhich killed some 227 people and wreaked havoc on communities in the area.
“You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks“It’s not easy to go through, but I’ve seen a lot of resilience across this state,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a briefing in Sarasota. He added that at least 340 people and 49 pets of sido rescued in ongoing efforts.
Around 80,000 people spent the night in sheltersand thousands more fled after authorities issued arrest warrants. mandatory evacuation in 15 counties in Florida, which has a total population of about 7.2 million people.
