US: At least six dead after Hurricane Milton thrashes Florida
From BBC
Summary
- At least six people are confirmed dead after Hurricane Milton passed through Florida, though the total number of deaths could rise as rescue workers make their way through floodwaters and debris
- More than three million homes and businesses are without power, while Governor Ron DeSantis says more flooding is expected in coming days
- Florida residents are being warned not to visit areas hit by Hurricane Milton, after it brought tornadoes, floods, and storm surges to the state
- In St Petersburg, on the west coast, the water supply has been cut, a crane crashed into a newspaper building, and the roof of a Major League Baseball stadium was ripped off
- Milton is moving into the Atlantic, but many parts of the state are flooded, with some people being rescued by boat
Watch: Floridians assess hurricane damage after harrowing night. Click HERE for video
Death toll reaches to at least 11 people – it could still risepublished at 21:06 British Summer Time21:06 BST
As we reported earlier, rescue workers are still making their way through debris and flooded areas throughout Florida, so the total number of dead and injured may not yet be known.
For now, we can let you know that at least 11 people have died in Florida, according to CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.
According to CBS, four deaths were reported in Volusia County, a coastal community about 50 miles east of Orlando.
Two were killed in St Petersburg, officials said, without providing more detail. In Inverness, 75 miles north of Tampa, a 46-year-old man died overnight after a falling tree collided with his car while driving.
As we previously reported, four had been confirmed dead in St Lucie County, where multiple tornados broke out, destroying the local sheriff’s office.
Speaking this afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the total number of deaths was not yet completely clear.
And Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said earlier today that 10 people had been killed, but that the number is still very “fluid”.
“We are just beginning damage assessment,” he said.
“We have 10 confirmed fatalities. Our understanding is that those fatalities were caused by the tornados.”
It is our job to make sure that number does not climb through valiant search and rescue efforts,” he continued.
Milton is no longer officially a hurricane – but still powerfulpublished at 20:44 British Summer Time20:44 BST
Milton has turned into a “hurricane-force extratropical low”, according to the latest update from the National Hurricane Center, external (NHC).
However, this doesn’t mean it’s lost all its power. Communities alone the eastern coast of Florida are still experiencing tropical storm conditions and storm surges, according to the NHC. There are still hurricane-force winds extending out up to 70 miles (110 km) northwest of the storm’s centre.
“The centre of Milton will continue to move away from the east coast of Florida and pass north of the north-western Bahamas this afternoon”, the update says.
Misinformation makes landfall in wake of killer stormspublished at 20:27 British Summer Time20:27 BST
Mike Wendling
US digital reporter
Experts say online misinformation exploded after Hurricane Helene – and they’re bracing for another big round after Milton.
The scale and speed of false rumours is unprecedented, researchers tell the BBC. The falsehoods include fake stories about weather manipulation, authorities confiscating land or blocking aid, posts about supposed plots against people in rural areas and more.
But not only are the falsehoods being spread to more people from only a few sources – fewer than three dozen false or abusive posts were viewed 160 million times on X, according to the Institute of Strategic Dialogue think tank – but they have taken on a sharper political edge than in previous crises.
Many of the most viral posts come from accounts which staunchly support Donald Trump and his Make America Great Again agenda. And they are taking aim at foreign aid and migrants.
“Every crisis event, a natural disaster or a political crisis, we are hit with narratives about migrants and the war in Ukraine, it’s simply part of the online landscape,” says the ISD’s Moustafa Ayad.
“Whether or not they are true or false is a different story. The ones that we are seeing having a huge viral impact are patently false, or based on the smallest grain of truth, twisted out of all recognition.”
Misinformation around weather has evolved over the last several years, from the pranksters and alarmist posts about looting that, for instance, circulated around previous tropical storms.
Now the scale is bigger and we’re seeing weather-related false stories directly linked to key issues in next month’s election in the US.
Ayad says that does not bode well for election day itself.
“I don’t know how well prepared we as a society are for the amount of misinformation we’re going to be dealing with,” he says.
False videos circulate online after Hurricane Miltonpublished at 20:16 British Summer Time20:16 BST
by Rozina Sini, Paul Myers, Emma Pengelly
False videos have been circulating on social media purporting to show Hurricane Milton.
One account on X with 10,000 followers shared three clips with the hashtag #hurricanemilton2024. The post has been viewed more than 230,000 times but two of the three pieces of footage do not actually show the effects of Hurricane Milton.
The first video, external shows a large tornado and flashes of lightning strikes. However BBC Verify has found evidence that the video has been altered and was shared online as early as September 2023. While another video, externalwas filmed earlier this year in Iowa and shows a tornado tearing through Des Moines.
To add to the confusion, a real video, external was shared alongside the misleading ones, which shows damage to homes in Florida. BBC Verify geolocated it to a residential street near West Palm Beach which is on the east coast. A reverse image search indicates it was filmed yesterday when there were reports of tornadoes passing through the area.
Old footage labelled as Hurricane Milton is also being shared on TikTok, external. One video said to show “Milton making landfall near Siesta Key”, viewed one million times, is actually a compilation of tornadoes in Pilger, Nebraska filmed more than 10 years ago.
Watch: Sheriff rescues 14-year-old stranded on floating hurricane debrispublished at 20:07 British Summer Time20:07 BST
Sheriff Chad Chronister and his department’s Marine Unit rescued a 14-year-old boy in Hillsborough County, Florida, in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.
Americast’s Hurricane Milton special now availablepublished at 20:01 British Summer Time20:01 BST
Earlier today Americast recorded a special live episode to assess the impact of Hurricane Milton.
Sarah Smith joined from Miami where she was surveying damage on the ground. In London, Marianna Spring was in the studio with Adam Fleming and Justin Webb to discuss the scale of misinformation online, which has prompted Joe Biden to label such actions as “un-American”.
And, the team try to understand what the ramifications of all this could be on the upcoming presidential election.
The special is available to listen to on BBC Sound.
‘This hurricane is the most petrifying thing ever’ – British journalist on holiday in Floridapublished at 19:53 British Summer Time19:53 BST
Minreet Kaur
In Florida
This trip was meant to be a sunny one for us, with a visit to Disney World Orlando, and a visit to Tampa for the beach.
My mum, who is 73, is finally in remission from battling a blood cancer called myeloma, so I decided to surprise her and bring her here after a rough year.
But, the weather here has been more rain than sun, and now we are living through one of the worst hurricanes in a decade.
When the hurricane hit the hotel I thought it was going to rip right through the hotel or at least take the roof off.
I now understand the pain Floridians go through when hurricanes hit and respect how they don’t panic, as to them it’s normal. To us Brits it’s a shock to the system.
Florida is certainly gave us more than a sunny holiday at Disney.
At least six people confirmed dead – toll could risepublished at 19:42 British Summer Time19:42 BST
As first responders wade through floodwaters and clear fallen trees and power lines after Hurricane Milton’s passage through Florida last night, there is not yet a clear picture of the total number of deaths the storm may have caused.
We reported earlier four people were killed in St Lucie County after multiple tornadoes hit the area.
And St Petersburg’s chief of police Anthony Halloway said two people had died in the central Florida city.
But as we learn more about the post-storm picture in the state, the toll may go up.
As we told you in an update earlier this afternoon, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said there had been five deaths in St Lucie County, though it’s not clear whether those were all due to the tornadoes there.
There are also reports of other deaths elsewhere, which we are working to confirm.
We’ve contacted local officials for more information and we’ll bring you an update as soon as we can.
Biden says Congress should return to address emergency needspublished at 19:37 British Summer Time19:37 BST
As promised, we can now bring you the key points from US President Biden on the initial impact of Hurricane Milton.
He says it is still too early to tell just how bad the damage from the storm might be. “There’s still very dangerous conditions in the state,” he says, adding that he knows from past experience that more lives are sometimes lost after hurricanes pass through than during a hurricane itself.
Biden also points out that “there is going to be a need for significant amounts of money” to manage the aftermath, and says that Congress, whose members are currently in recess, should return and address emergency needs immediately.
“They’re going to have to come back after the election as well, because this is going to be a long haul for total rebuilding,” he says. “It’s going to take several billion dollars.”
“It’s not going to be a matter of just a little bit, but we’re providing now to make sure people have the emergency relief they need.”
END
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