Hurricane Milton’s Impact on Florida: A Local Perspective

Last night, Hurricane Milton made landfall south of our home in Tampa, Florida, bringing with it a sense of urgency and community spirit. In our neighborhood, a preemptive hurricane preparation block party took place two days before the storm. Neighbors came together to assist one another in setting up hurricane shutters and securing homes, embodying the resilient nature of our community. Despite our preparedness, the anticipation of Milton’s landfall left few of us sleeping soundly.

Milton’s eye bypassed Tampa, but the weather still left its mark. Rain slashed through the streets, and the wind howled relentlessly throughout the night.

I took my dog, Ace, for a walk around 4 a.m., surveying the damage. The neighborhood had fared relatively well, with scattered debris, torn-up signs, and uprooted trees marking the storm’s passing. Power outages were widespread, and many homes were plunged into darkness.

Yet, our neighborhood's experience pales in comparison to what much of the surrounding Florida region encountered. Hurricane Milton downgraded from Category 5 made landfall as a Category 3 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County, unleashing a torrent of destruction across the state. The storm pounded Florida on three fronts, affecting millions of Floridians.

To our south, the coastal areas faced a brutal storm surge, flooding barrier islands and submerging parts of Charlotte Harbor, Venice, Punta Gorda, and Fort Myers. Early images show sea water rushing through streets, and though the full extent of the damage remains unclear, initial reports indicate significant flooding in these areas.

Meanwhile, in Tampa Bay, torrential rain inundated Pinellas and Hillsborough counties. In just six hours, an astonishing 17 inches of rain fell, leading to flash flood warnings from the National Weather Service. Winds uprooted trees and tore apart the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, where a section of a large construction crane collapsed onto a nearby building.

Further east, tornadoes touched down in central Florida, leaving behind a trail of destruction. Dozens of tornadoes were reported, killing residents in St. Lucie County and destroying homes across the state. It’s estimated that at least 150 homes were damaged or destroyed by these twisters(Hurricane Milton made l…).

As Hurricane Milton churned eastward, it spared some communities but left others devastated. Roads in Riverview became impassable as downed power lines and trees blocked pathways. Fortunately, flooding along the Alafia River wasn’t as severe as past storms, but the damage remained significant.

For many of us, Milton’s impact was another reminder of Florida’s vulnerability to hurricanes, but it also highlighted the importance of community in times of crisis. While we were fortunate to avoid the worst of Milton’s wrath, much of Florida faces a long road to recovery. The true scale of the damage will become clearer as the sun rises and in the days to come as we reflect on another powerful reminder of nature’s force.