Hurricane Milton, a monstrous storm, made landfall in Florida with winds of nearly 200 km/h and once-in-a-thousand-years heavy rainfall.

As of 9:20 AM this morning (Vietnam time), Hurricane Milton's intensity had decreased to a Category 2 storm after making landfall.

With wind speeds of 177 km/h, the storm's center is currently located 32 km northeast of Sarasota, Florida. CNN emphasizes that although the storm's intensity has decreased, the warning of dangerous impacts remains unchanged.

According to CNN , Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that at least 19 tornadoes had been confirmed and 116 tornado warnings had been issued across the state as Hurricane Milton made landfall.

According to NBC News , a spokesperson for the St. Lucie County Fire Department in Florida said that the tornado that swept through the county at 4:28 p.m. (local time) killed two people and sent several others to the hospital.

Hurricane Milton caused seawater to flood the shore at Charlotte Harbor, Florida. Photo: CNN/Tuoi Tre Online

In addition, nine flash flood warnings and four supplemental flood warnings have been issued. DeSantis stressed that "there's still a lot more to come." The state of Florida has already provided generators to shelters and stockpiled fuel.

Authorities will escort fuel trucks to gas stations when ports reopen.

At the same time, weather conditions in St. Petersburg, Florida, also became "extreme and severe," CNN weather coordinator Bill Weir said after Hurricane Milton made landfall.

Accordingly, the St. Petersburg area experienced a "once-in-a-thousand-years" rainfall. Within 3 hours, the area received more than 9 inches (22.86 cm) of rain, equivalent to the average rainfall of more than 3 months combined.

The national weather agency has warned that severe flash flooding is underway or will soon begin, threatening people's lives.

A state of emergency due to flash floods has been declared for Tampa, Florida. This is the highest level of flood warning.

"Rainfall of 10-14 inches (25.4-35.56 cm) has fallen. Flash flooding has occurred. This is an extremely dangerous situation. Seek higher ground now," the U.S. National Weather Service (NWS) emphasized.

Trees swayed violently in the storm. Photo: EPA/Tuoi Tre Online

More than 1.1 million households and businesses in Florida lost power in just one hour as Hurricane Milton swept through the state, according to PowerOutage.us.

Sarasota County experienced the most severe power outages, with neighboring areas such as Manatee and Hardee also facing similar situations.

Under the impact of Hurricane Milton, which made landfall in the Tampa Bay area, rainfall in St. Petersburg reached 0.23 meters in just three hours. This is a once-in-a-thousand-years rainfall event for the city, according to CNN.

Hurricane Milton has made landfall.

The amount of rainwater accumulated over the past three hours is equivalent to the average rainfall over three months in St. Petersburg.

The US National Weather Service also warned that flash flooding would soon occur in areas affected by Hurricane Milton, threatening the lives of people who had not yet evacuated.

Hurricane Milton threatened nearly the entire state of Florida as it swept in from the Gulf of Mexico on October 9th, with most of the state's 23 million residents under high alert warnings. Like previous hurricanes, including Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Irma in 2017, Milton posed a threat to the state's Atlantic coast as well as the Gulf Coast.

This is a unique situation for America's third most populous state, which continues to welcome new residents every day with no sign of slowing down due to its rapid growth.

"Please note that if you are on the east coast of Florida, you need to understand that this is not just a hurricane on the west coast," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis emphasized on October 9th. He stated that the deployment of personnel and resources in anticipation of the hurricane is at the largest level in the state's history.

According to The Guardian, 6,000 members of the National Guard in Florida, as well as 3,000 National Guard troops from other states, are being deployed in anticipation of Hurricane Milton.

This figure marks the largest search and rescue mobilization by the Florida National Guard in the state's history.

Meanwhile, more than 50,000 electricians will be working to restore power lines immediately after the storm passes, many of them from California.

Hurricane Milton will continue to cause dangerous storm surges, flooding, and strong winds both near and far from the area where the storm made landfall.

The storm is also predicted to maintain its intensity as it moves across the entire Florida peninsula until the morning of October 10 (local time, which is the evening of October 10 in Vietnam).

The Tampa National Weather Service warned: "Rainfall has been between 152 and 305 mm. Flash flooding is occurring in some areas or is expected soon in many others."

Minh Hoa (compiled from Tuoi Tre and Znews)

Source: https://www.nguoiduatin.vn/sieu-bao-quai-vat-milton-do-bo-florida-voi-suc-gio-gan-200km-h-mua-lon-ngan-nam-co-1-204241010101105608.htm