Hurricane Milton Latest: $180 Billion In Damages, At Least 12 Killed

Updated, 6:37 p.m. Thursday

FLORIDA — When Hurricane Milton touched ground in Florida on Wednesday night, it killed at least a dozen people, spun deadly tornadoes, left millions in the dark and ravaged structures, causing some $180 billion in estimated damages.

On Thursday, the dawn brought light to a flooded state with hundreds of Floridians waiting to be rescued. The catastrophic storm, which came just on the heels of Helene two weeks before, toppled a construction crane, ripped the roof off the Tropicana Field and even submerged barrier islands.

According to Gov. Ron DeSantis, at least 340 people and 49 pets had been rescued by the afternoon. By the evening, the damage and death toll were still being assessed.

Milton made its way to the Atlantic Ocean Thursday afternoon, weakening to a post-tropical cyclone with winds of 75 mph. But it did not leave without incident.

Milton first slammed Siesta Key in Sarasota County as a category 3 around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday before leaving its footprint eastward across Florida. Central Florida did not escape Milton's wrath.

Tornadoes ripped through some of the East Coast while flooding affected Florida's east and west coasts, DeSantis said Thursday.

NBC News has reported that at least 12 people have been confirmed dead.

At least five deaths occurred in the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village in Fort Pierce and another two deaths were reported in St. Petersburg.

And in Tampa, police found the body of a woman in her 70s on Thursday morning beneath a large tree branch.

During the storm, damaging winds roared, largely impacting Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee and Sarasota counties. Up to 18 inches of rain fell in Pinellas and coastal Hillsborough counties, and areas northward toward Gainesville and along parts of the Interstate 4 corridor felt about 5-10 inches of rainfall, DeSantis said.

Floridians Urged To Still Heed Precautions In Storm's Aftermath

Despite the destruction and life lost, many expressed that Milton could have been much worse as it wasn't the lethal direct hit to Tampa that scientists were predicting. Though Helene killed 230 people.

Still, the hurricane will go down as one of the most destructive storms Florida has ever seen, with water levels that rose some 15 feet in a "violent manner" in the area between Sarasota and Englewood, said AccuWeather Founder Joel N. Myers.

“You face two hurricanes in a couple of weeks — not easy to go through — but I’ve seen a lot of resilience throughout this state,” the governor said at a briefing in Sarasota. He said he was “very confident that this area is going to bounce back very, very quickly.”

But he also warned that residents should still maintain caution and vigilance of Milton's aftermath.

DeSantis asked people to not attempt to remove tree debris entangled with power lines or try to wade through standing stormwaters as bacteria could exist. He noted the latter caused a fatality with Helene.

He also advised people to utilize proper ladder safety and proper generator safety.

"Please be cautious of hazards," DeSantis said. "We have post-storm fatalities almost every storm, and a lot of these fatalities, are avoidable."

Damage assessments were underway as Milton left the area and FEMA was urging residents to only return home when told to do so.

"DO NOT enter your damaged home if you smell gas, floodwaters remain around the building or if authorities have not declared it safe to return. If your home has received significant flood damage, ensure that the electricity is off and that you are wearing appropriate safety gear before entering," FEMA disaster officials warned.

Here is the latest on the storm aftermath:

• As of 6:30 p.m., electricity was out to 2.9 million, according to poweroutage.us. MORE: See Map, Hardest Hit Areas, Restoration Estimates
• The total damages are estimated between $160 and $180 billion, according to AccuWeather:

“With Hurricane Milton’s total damage and economic losses of $160-180 billion, the sum of two hurricanes in just three weeks elapsed time has a total damage and economic loss of near 2% of the country’s GDP, putting the Federal Reserve in a quandary,” said AccuWeather Founder and Executive Chairman Dr. Joel N. Myers in an emailed news release.