Hurricane Milton has left parts of Florida submerged, as the catastrophic storm pounded the west coast with strong winds and relentless rain.

Low-lying coastal towns have been swamped, and the roads in some areas are completely underwater.

As residents scrambled to evacuate, others are now stranded amidst rising floodwaters. The devastation comes on the heels of Hurricane Helene, compounding the misery for communities already in recovery mode.

Hurricane Milton leaves parts of Florida submerged, with coastal towns swamped and streets completely underwater

Image credits: Joe Raedle / Getty Images

Hurricane Milton made landfall with brutal force on the night of Wednesday, October 9, but the true extent of the damage will only be realized in the daylight.

As dawn breaks, the full scope of the devastation—flooded neighborhoods, damaged infrastructure, and displaced residents—will finally be visible for officials to evaluate the nightmarish toll​.

“Darkness brings its own challenges for disaster response. Flooded roadways, fallen trees, obstacles, and downed power lines are harder to see. Storms of this magnitude are chaos, and the limited visibility—especially when the power goes out—is another layer to contend with as we start recovering and assessing the impacts of the storm,” Lieutenant Todd Olmer with the Lee County Sheriff’s Office told Bored Panda.

While some managed to evacuate, others are trapped by rising floodwaters after the region was battered with relentless rain

🚨🇺🇲FLORIDA UPDATE: HURRICANE MILTON

– 1.5 MILLION+ WITHOUT POWER
– 125 HOMES DESTROYED (mostly senior communities)
– Hardee, Sarasota, Manatee counties hardest hit

STAY INFORMED, STAY SAFE#HurricaneMilton #Florida #Milton https://t.co/oJfm55XBAu pic.twitter.com/a2KY47g41Q

— Weather monitor (@Weathermonitors) October 10, 2024

Florida Beach Flood Hurricane Milton 🇺🇸🌴🙏#Florida#hurricane #Milton
#florida #beach #flood #reelsvideo #america #today #strom #Cyclone pic.twitter.com/mKJ8OueDjB

— ❤️⃝❥𝑴𝒖𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒅 𝒌𝒉𝒂𝒏ᵀᵉᵃᵐˢᵒᵏ (@Mkhan0804) October 10, 2024

When asked about whether the sheriff’s office received reports of casualties or damages, Lieutenant Todd said, “Early on a number of tornadoes touched down in North Ft. Myers and Cape Coral. Businesses and homes were heavily damaged by these. There have also been reports of a few structure fires. As the sun comes up and people can get a better idea of the impact, we will have more details.”

One police chief revealed that it’s likely they will find bodies in the aftermath.

“I don’t think it’s going to be rescue once the storm subsides…it’s going to be recovery,” Melanie Bevan, the chief of the police department in Bradenton, Florida, told BBC.

“What we’ll probably be finding in the morning are bodies…it’s bleak in some of these areas,” she added.

The once-in-a-century storm wreaked havoc after Hurricane Milton made landfall on the night of Wednesday, October 9

Many roads are flooding in Tampa with a flash flood emergency from Hurricane #Milton. This car flooded out on N Lois Ave. Car is empty. Love coverage continues on @weatherchannel. pic.twitter.com/7xsV5RVNVs

— Charles Peek (@CharlesPeekWX) October 10, 2024

We’re on Shore Boulevard in downtown Gulfport. Piles of debris from Hurricane Helene just days ago are now soaked in the floodwaters of Hurricane #Milton pic.twitter.com/BJJd0TKG1s

— Max Chesnes (@MaxChesnes) October 10, 2024

Before the storm wreaked havoc, officers told residents to have their names and loved ones’ identities written on their arms in black marker.

This was “so that we can get hold of somebody to come claim you,” Melanie said.

Meteorologist Matthew Cappucci said that most of Sarasota has been flooded with several feet of water.

Several netizens shared footage of the destruction left behind by the gusty winds and torrential rain

Downtown Fort Myers, Florida under water after heavy rain with gusty winds #HurricaneMilton #Florida #FLwx https://t.co/4qYVbqWsDA pic.twitter.com/zeaMp0fPqJ

— Weather monitor (@Weathermonitors) October 10, 2024

“A cement bench flew off the roof of a neighboring hotel and crashed down next to me,” he told the outlet.

“Traffic lights were flying in the wind and pieces of people’s roofs were flying past me,” he continued. “It is probably one of the most intense hurricanes I’ve ever seen.”

“What we’ll probably be finding in the morning are bodies…it’s bleak in some of these areas,” a police chief said

Speechless. We are at the entrance to our Tampa Bay Times office in downtown St. Petersburg.

A crane is blocking the road, and several stories up, smoke billows out of the building from where it appears the crane fell

Smell of gas in the air and you can hear alarms #MILTON pic.twitter.com/RxUDTWd9md

— Max Chesnes (@MaxChesnes) October 10, 2024

Most Scariest visuals coming ever in history of Florida.

There has been a lot of destruction. May nature keep everyone safe.#Milton #Florida #FloridaStorm #FloridaFlooding #Flood #HurricaneMilton #HurricanMilton #Hurricane #MiltonFlorida pic.twitter.com/f1STMO8rbc

— Krishna ji Rawat (@KrishnajiRawat1) October 10, 2024

Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center, said Wednesday night that the Tampa metropolitan area was receiving between three and five inches of rain per hour.

” … That’s two and three times the normal rain rate, or speed, that rain would fall from just a traditional thunderstorm,” he told CBS News.

“And when rain falls that fast, that hard on an urban area, you almost get an instant flood,” he continued, “it has nowhere to go, you just get this instant flash flooding, and you’re seeing that unfold all throughout the Tampa Bay area as we speak.”

“When rain falls that fast, that hard on an urban area, you almost get an instant flood,” said Jamie Rhome, deputy director of the National Hurricane Center

🚨🇺🇸 HURRICANE MILTON HITS FLORIDA, BRINGS DEADLY TORNADOES AND FLASH FLOODS

Hurricane Milton made landfall on Florida’s west coast with 120 mph winds, spawning 19 tornadoes and causing widespread damage.

Over 125 homes were destroyed, and 2 million residents are without… https://t.co/m206rRHWNy pic.twitter.com/pEJ3TmVflq

— The Ledger Report (@LedgerRPT) October 10, 2024

As recovery efforts ramp up in the aftermath of the storm, Lieutenant Todd told Bored Panda that their focus would be on doing everything possible to support residents.

“Unfortunately our agency and area is familiar with these events Two years ago Hurricane Ian decimated our barrier islands and caused substantial damage from winds and flooding throughout the county,” he said. “Our focus is recovery, and bringing everything we can to support or great residents of Lee County.”

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