Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida's west coast Wednesday evening, bringing deadly tornadoes, widespread flooding, and knocking out power to nearly 2 million residents. The Category 3 hurricane, with wind speeds reaching 120 mph (195 kph), struck near Siesta Key at approximately 8:30 p.m. EDT, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

By 11 p.m. EDT, Hurricane Milton weakened to a Category 2, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph (165 kph), but still posed a significant threat as it continued its march across central Florida. The storm’s eye was located about 75 miles southwest of Orlando, where flash flood warnings remained in effect, particularly in the Tampa Bay area. St. Petersburg had already received a staggering 16.6 inches of rain, compounding the danger for residents.

Governor Ron DeSantis urged residents to shelter in place, noting that conditions were too dangerous for evacuation. "At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down," DeSantis said after the storm's landfall.

Milton spawned at least 19 tornadoes across multiple counties, destroying approximately 125 homes, mostly mobile homes. In Fort Pierce, on the state’s east coast, two people were reported dead in a retirement community, following a suspected tornado, as authorities worked to assess further damage.

Nearly 1.8 million homes and businesses across Florida were left without power, with efforts underway to restore electricity as soon as conditions permitted. Governor DeSantis also highlighted the readiness of 9,000 National Guard personnel and 50,000 electricity workers who were poised to begin recovery efforts once the storm passed.

While human residents faced the brunt of Hurricane Milton, animals at Tampa's zoo, including African elephants and pygmy hippos, were sheltered in place, protected from the storm’s destructive winds and rain.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) deployed millions of liters of water, meals, and emergency supplies to Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall. Administrator Deanne Criswell reassured the public that ongoing recovery efforts from Hurricane Helene, which ravaged the state just two weeks ago, would not be impacted by the additional response required for Milton.

As Florida endures back-to-back hurricanes, the total damage is expected to climb into the billions of dollars.