Miami, Oct 11 (EFE).- Nearly 2 million customers remained without electricity Friday night in Florida, 48 hours after the passage of Hurricane Milton, which claimed the lives of 17 people and left flooding and destruction of hundreds of homes.
According to PowerOutage.us, at 7pm local time (00:00 GMT) on Friday, more than 1.9 million homes and businesses were without electricity, with the counties on the state’s central-west coast being the most affected. These included Hardee, Hillsborough, Charlotte, Manatee, Sarasota and Pinellas, which were hit Wednesday night by the hurricane.
State’s Governor Ron DeSantis said the number of fatalities may rise as rescue operations continue, which are not yet finished.
Milton deaths in Florida have risen to at least 17, several of them due to tornadoes that occurred before the hurricane’s arrival.
So far, at least six deaths have been confirmed in St. Lucie County, on the east coast of Florida, where “fast-spinning tornadoes” touched down before Milton’s arrival.
According to authorities, several of these victims died after tornadoes caused by Milton hit the area Wednesday afternoon and touched down in the Spanish Lakes Country Village senior community, located north of Fort Pierce.
The National Weather Service classified the tornado that hit the retirement community as category EF3 on Friday.
Authorities confirmed the long-track tornado had “winds of up to 140-150 mph” (225-240 kmph), which damaged businesses and homes in its path.
Initial investigations show the tornado’s estimated path was at least 19 kilometers, but the service believes it extended further. EFE
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