Deadly Hurricane Milton Sweeps Through Florida, Killing Several, Impacting Millions
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
MIAMI, USA (Worthy News) – Hurricane Milton, described as America’s “storm of the century” by U.S. President Joe Biden, has slammed into Florida, killing at least four people, destroying homes, and knocking out power to more than 2 million customers.
Among those killed, two deaths were reported at a retirement community following a suspected tornado in Fort Pierce on the eastern coast of Florida, broadcaster NBC News said, citing St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson.
However, by early Thursday, wind speeds reduced to a still dangerous 90 miles per hour (150 kilometers per hour), dropping Milton to a Category 1 hurricane in Florida, the southeasternmost U.S. state.
Yet by that time, heavy rains and damaging storms had already surged and reached Florida’s Atlantic Coast.
The eye of the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island town of some 5,400 off Sarasota about 60 miles (100 kilometers) south of the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which is home to more than 3 million people.
Authorities said the hurricane was also about 10 miles (17 kilometers) northwest of Cape Canaveral, home to NASA’s Space Force Station.
LIFE-SAVING MISSIONS
Ahead of the storm, U.S. President Joe Biden said he “approved emergency declaration requests from the State and the Seminole Tribe of Florida. We have thousands of federal personnel on the ground. And we have staged 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water.”
He added, “At my direction, Secretary of Defense [Lloyd J.] Austin has pre-positioned search and rescue teams, helicopters, and high-water vehicles as close to the storm as possible so they are ready to conduct life-saving missions.”
Biden said the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) is in the area.
Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis said that despite the hardship, “I’ve seen great sources of inspiration throughout the state of Florida with our first responders, with people who are working around the clock to help their fellow Floridians.” He said there are 150 shelters with a capacity for 200,000 people.
Presidential nominee Kamala Harris has criticized DeSantis for allegedly refusing to take her calls just weeks before the election. She called it “utterly irresponsible” and “selfish” to play “political games” at a time of crisis.
“I’ve been in touch with both FEMA and the president, as well as marshaling all our state agencies and working to support our local communities,” DeSantis countered.
NO ROLE
“She has no role in this,” he added. “In fact, she’s been vice president for three-and-a-half years. I’ve dealt with a number of storms under this administration. She has never contributed anything to any of these efforts, and so what I think is selfish is trying to blunder into this.”
Yet amid the devastation and political turbulence, Christians set up prayer groups as concern mounted about the hurricane’s devastation.
“Please join us in praying for those on the path of Hurricane Milton. May God provide peace and safety for those enduring this latest storm,” said the relief group Samaritan’s Purse, led by evangelist Franklin Graham.
“Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on Wednesday, October 9—unleashing powerful storm surge, torrential rain, and ferocious winds,” the group stressed.
“The powerful Category 3 storm is pounding some communities that are still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago,” Samaritan’s Purse noticed.
“However, once the storm has passed, we will respond alongside the local church in Jesus’ Name.”