HURRICANE Milton struck Florida in the United States as a Category 3 storm, after weakening from a Category 5 storm on Wednesday morning. It has since been downgraded to a Category 2.
US President Joe Biden warned it is expected to be one of the “most and worst destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in over a century”.
The hurricane blew ashore near the coastal community of Siesta Key, south of the densely populated Tampa Bay metropolitan area, less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene battered the state. The area has not suffered a direct hurricane strike in more than 100 years.
Hundreds of thousands of coastal residents have evacuated inland, with others sheltering in place as the storm tears across the state.
More than two million homes in the state are without power, according to tracker Poweroutage.us.
At least 19 tornadoes ripped across the southern part of Florida, hundreds of miles from the centre of the storm, as Hurricane Milton neared land, Governor Ron DeSantis said at a Wednesday evening news briefing.
Milton may be running out of steam, but the storm was still expected to maintain hurricane strength as it crosses the Florida peninsula overnight and emerges into the Atlantic on Thursday, forecasters said.
Milton was moving towards the east-northeast at 26 kilometres per hour (16mph), and once beyond Florida, it was forecast to weaken over the western Atlantic.
Florida is one of the world’s biggest producers of citrus fruit in the world – and oranges are one of its most iconic symbols.
The US Department of Agriculture estimates, for the 2023-2024 season, the state will produce 18.8 million boxes of oranges.
But the crop is vulnerable to major weather events, and Hurricane Milton could pose a threat to this year’s production.
