International Desk: The extremely dangerous Hurricane Milton has struck the United States. Heavy rainfall, strong winds, and deadly storm surges were warned, and on Wednesday (October 9), the storm hit the western coast of Florida in the southeastern part of the country.

Warnings about significant damage from the powerful hurricane had already been issued, and millions of people were instructed to evacuate to safer locations.

As a result of the hurricane’s impact, more than 1.2 million customers are currently without power, according to separate reports from Reuters and Al Jazeera on Thursday (October 10).

The reports state that Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s western coast on Wednesday, bringing severe rainfall and spawning tornadoes. The Tampa Bay area is under serious threat, with the possibility of deadly storm surges in the region.

Just two weeks ago, Hurricane Helen had already devastated this state, and about 2 million people were ordered to evacuate. However, millions more remain in the storm’s projected path.

Officials issued increasingly dire warnings as Hurricane Milton approached, with President Joe Biden urging the public to follow local safety guidelines.

“This is literally a matter of life and death,” Biden said during a briefing at the White House.

As a result of Hurricane Milton, at least 1.2 million customers in Florida are currently without power. According to the tracker PowerOutage.us, the number of outages is rapidly increasing across the state, with over 1.2 million customers affected.

The majority of the power outages have been reported in central Florida, where Milton recently made landfall. Tampa and its surrounding areas are experiencing some of the worst blackouts.

The BBC also reports that Hurricane Milton, described as “extremely dangerous” and “life-threatening,” hit Siesta Key, Florida, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC).

Governor Ron DeSantis warned of severe winds and flash floods as the Category 3 storm made landfall.

In addition, dozens of tornado and storm surge warnings were issued, causing hundreds of thousands of people to flee the state on Wednesday, according to the BBC.

The U.S. National Hurricane Center stated that Hurricane Milton could set a record as the most destructive hurricane for Florida’s west-central region.

One of the biggest concerns with such storms is the storm surge, which occurs when powerful winds drive water levels higher. The Hurricane Center indicated that storm surges could reach 3 to 4.5 meters in areas close to the storm’s center.

As a result, storm and surge warnings were issued along nearly 500 kilometers of Florida’s western coastline before Hurricane Milton made landfall.

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