Hurricane Milton leaves four dead and millions without power

ST PETERSBURG, Florida - Hurricane Milton tore a coast-to-coast path of destruction across the US state of Florida, whipping up a spate of deadly tornadoes that left at least four people dead and millions without power on Oct 10.

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Milton made landfall on the night of Oct 9 on the Florida Gulf Coast as a major Category 3 storm. Sustained hurricane-force winds smashed inland through communities still reeling from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, before roaring off Florida's east coast into the Atlantic.

"The wind was the scariest thing because the building sways and the windows rattle, even though they are storm-proof windows," said Sarasota resident Carrie Elizabeth, as she emerged to inspect the aftermath on Oct 10.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said the storm triggered deadly tornadoes and left more than three million people without power.

In a statement on its website, St Lucie County on the east coast confirmed "four fatalities as a result of these tornadoes".

Wind uprooted large trees and ripped apart the roof at the Tampa Bay Rays' Tropicana Field baseball stadium in St Petersburg, and sent a construction crane falling onto a downtown building nearby.

Emergency crews in the Tampa Bay area responded overnight to dozens of calls for help, including one after a tree fell on a house with 15 people inside, Tampa police chief Lee Bercaw said.

All 15 people - some of them children - were taken to a shelter, he said.