SIESTA KEY, Fla. − Hurricane Milton howled across the Florida Peninsula on Thursday, tearing a path of destruction from the Gulf of Mexico to the Atlantic, killing at least nine people and knocking out power to millions yet averting the "worst-case scenario" meteorologists, officials and residents had feared.

Milton did not go quietly, though, flooding neighborhoods, destroying homes, ripping the roof off a major sports venue and toppling a massive crane into an office building. Two deaths were confirmed in St. Petersburg, one in Volusia County, another in Polk County and five in St. Lucie County on Florida's east coast following tornadoes there.

Power outages inched higher during the day as the storm exited off the eastern coast of the state, and nearly 3.4 million homes and businesses were in the dark, according to poweroutage.us.

"The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst-case scenario," Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a briefing Thursday. He cited the storm weakening before landfall and said the storm surge "as initially reported has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene."

DeSantis said Tampa experienced a reverse storm surge that drove water away from the shoreline rather than overwhelming the city. The Florida Division of Emergency Management, in a post on social media, warned residents not to walk out into receding water because "the water WILL return through storm surge and poses a life-threatening risk."

Milton's powerful assault comes two weeks after Hurricane Helene slammed into the Florida coast on its way to devastating communities across at least seven states. Milton made landfall at about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday on the state's western coast, a Category 3 hurricane with 120 mph sustained winds amid a flurry of tornadoes it spawned.

Hurricane Milton tracker: Storm exits Florida at Category 1 strength after slamming west coast

Developments:

∎ The center of Milton was pulling away from Florida on Thursday. The storm was 135 miles east-northeast of Cape Canaveral moving at 20 mph with 80-mph sustained winds, the National Hurricane Center said in its 11 a.m. update.

∎ Pasadena Hospital in St. Petersburg was temporarily shut down as HCA Florida Healthcare evacuated hundreds of patients from hospitals in mandatory evacuation zones.

Photographers are capturing images of Hurricane Milton's damaging sweep through Florida.

On hard-hit Siesta Key, where the storm’s eye came ashore, authorities closed bridges to the island but allowed worried residents to walk across a bridge to check their homes.Many homes and buildings were seriously damaged by Helene two weeks ago, and some residents had only just finished cleaning up from that storm before Milton slammed into the island. “Oh my God, I don’t even want to see what my house looks like,” said Maria Williams, 48, as she tried to figure out how to get past mucky water covering portions of the island’s main thoroughfares, Midnight Pass Road. Williams said she had planned to ride out Helene but fled when floodwaters entered her house. She said she went to the mainland for Milton. “I’m so traumatized I was like I have to get the heck out of here,” she said.

Later Williams said her house seemed OK, although there were trees down everywhere. But the one-two punch of storms left her frustrated. "I just wish the whole house would wash away,” she said.

At least one person died in Volusia County and more are being rescued from Milton‘s aftermath, Volusia Emergency Management Director Clint Mecham said. The death happened in Ormond Beach when a tree fell through a roof. Officials did not release the victim's identity.

The Polk County Sheriff’s Office confirmed one death related to Milton in a traffic accident in the southern half of the county.

In addition, two deaths related to Milton were reported in St. Petersburg, a police official said at a news conference Thursday. St. Petersburg Chief of Police Anthony Holloway described one death as a medical-related incident. The other involved “someone that was found in a park,” he said, adding that he has not received the cause of death from the medical examiner’s office.

"Please stay off the roads," the police department said in a social media post. "Traffic lights are out and trees are down everywhere. It’s very dangerous until we can clear the roads."

− Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal

In Palm Harbor, Debbie Pace emerged from her home Thursday, curious to see what damage Milton had inflicted.

From midday Wednesday, she and her family had hunkered down in their boarded-up home, just north of Clearwater. The power went out and for several hours the wind sustained a furious howl that “didn’t let you breathe,” said Pace, 52.

“The wind was scary,” she said. “I could tell my kids were getting a little nervous. They would tell me to look outside now and again when we were playing Candyland and Chutes and Ladders.”

While she lost a section of her fence and tree limbs littered the neighborhood, Pace said the damage was not as bad as she had anticipated. Her main worry now is power won’t be restored before food in her fridge spoils.

“I ordered a generator a few days ago but it kept getting delayed,” she said. “It says it’s getting delivered Friday, but I don’t think that’s going to happen.”

In the Grenada neighborhood of Sarasota, Ron Collins watched as his wife cut up tree branches with an electric saw Thursday morning. The couple remained in their home during the storm, even though it was in a mandatory evacuation area, because Collins designed the house for a worst-case scenario.

A now-retired structural engineer who uses a power wheelchair, Collins said being unable to walk factored into their decision to stay for Milton. He preemptively had charged several spare batteries for his wheelchair to prepare for losing power: “Battery management has become my life,” said Collins, 68.“We did have a conversation about whether to evacuate when it was Category 4 looking like maybe becoming a Category 5,” Collins said. “But the human condition is that when it’s easy to evacuate, it’s too soon to know whether you really need to evacuate.”

The couple moved into the single-story concrete home in 2012. The roof is clad in inch-thick shielding to prevent branches stabbing through. The home was not damaged by Milton.“This house was built so we could shelter in place,'' Collins said. "That was always the plan when we moved here.”

DeSantis said Thursday dozens of rescues had taken place and more were underway. He said he expected bridges, gas stations and big box stores that had been forced to close would be opening quickly. Although at least five fatalities were confirmed by local officials, DeSantis said he could not confirm any deaths yet. And he dismissed efforts by insurance experts at estimating the damage.

"How the hell would a Wall Street analyst be able to know?" DeSantis said in response to a question on analyst estimates. "Its been dark all day. ... Give me a break on some of this stuff. They are doing damage assessments now."

Dr. Meghan Martin, a pediatric emergency physician in St. Petersburg, worked through the night as Hurricane Milton made landfall along the Gulf Coast and roared across the state. At the hospital with her children, Martin said evidence of Milton's power was visible across the area.

Martin said she occasionally logged into cameras set up outside her home to see whether floodwater seeped inside, as it had during Hurricane Helene. Martin, who runs a popular TikTok account, said she and most of the St. Petersburg area were spared from the storm surge, though the wind was ferocious.

“I could barely watch the trail cam because of the wind, the rain and the projectiles that were rolling by,” she said. “It was just impossible to see anything.”

Storms that make landfall to the south of Tampa usually mean less storm surge for Tampa. Because Milton roared ashore with its center of circulation just a little over 20 miles to the south, the especially vulnerable Tampa Bay narrowly averted the most catastrophic storm surge. While water rocketed higher at tide gauges along the coast south of Siesta Key and Sarasota as Milton made landfall Wednesday, gauges plunged around the bay.

Storm surge can happen near and to the right of where a storm makes landfall, but negative water levels can occur to the left of the landfall location, weather service meteorologist Ernie Jillson has said.

"Bays are more susceptible because they're like a bowl of water,” Jillson told USA TODAY. “They're protected by land on all sides except one, so that's why they're so susceptible to being emptied out.”

− Doyle Rice

Why Tampa Bay was spared: City averted catastrophic storm surge from Hurricane Milton. Here's why.

In Punta Gorda, 100 miles south of Tampa, residents woke Thursday to find Milton’s fierce winds and storm surge were powerful enough to deposit large sailboats on front lawns. The city, perched on the Peace River and Charlotte Harbor, also faced flooded neighborhoods and scattered piles of debris still sitting at curbs after Hurricane Helene barely two weeks ago. Some homes had broken water lines and the town’s power was out.

Jeff Weiler, riding his bike while taking his dog Einstein for a walk, said his home had been battered by a piece of dock. Worst of all, he said, his "life's ambition" − a recently purchased, 60-foot motor boat − had been damaged beyond repair.

“I just cashed in my retirement to buy that boat,” he said, choking back tears. “It’s gone.”

President Joe Biden spoke Thursday morning with DeSantis about the impacts of Hurricane Milton, the White House said in a statement. DeSantis told the president that officials are still assessing the damage across the state, and Biden reiterated that he would provide whatever support is needed to speed up the response and recovery, the statement said.

FEMA Administrator Criswell participated in the call and will be surveying the impact with the governor Thursday morning.

– Michael Collins

Four people died following suspected tornadoes Wednesday that ripped through Spanish Lakes County Club Village and other areas of St. Lucie County, officials announced Thursday. The county medical examiner confirmed the fatalities in a news release Thursday morning. No other details were provided.

Doug Anderson, a Lakewood Park resident, said he saw a tornado crossing Kings Highway as he was heading home from an errand around 5 p.m. Wednesday. He said the destruction in the Spanish Lakes community was jarring.

"I saw a semi knocked sideways, a truck knocked sideways," Anderson said. "I followed the wreckage into Spanish Lakes. It looked like someone had dropped a weight from the sky and flattened a bunch of houses."

− Blake Fontenay, Adam L. Neal, Treasure Coast Newspapers

In New Port Richey, about an hour northwest of Tampa, Lloyd Anoa’i and his neighbors remain trapped in their houses hours after Hurricane Milton blanketed roads and driveways in several feet of floodwater. Anoa’i, 53, said Milton’s torrential rain turned the pond behind his house “into an ocean.” As the heaviest rain was coming down, Anoa’i ran to his car and moved it from his driveway to the highest point of his yard before water could reach the doors.

“The water was like two and a half feet deep on my legs,” he told USA TODAY by phone Thursday. “It's crazy. Now nobody can go anywhere.”

Some water seeped into a back bedroom through floor panels. Meanwhile, the storm’s wind kept Anoa’i and his family on alert as their conversation was interrupted by occasional, booming thuds – what he believes were tree limbs falling on the roof.

"It was pretty rough,” he said. “You could feel the house just trembling.”

The eye of the storm made landfall in Siesta Key, a barrier island off Sarasota about 50 miles south of Tampa. In downtown Tampa early Thursday, fierce winds downed traffic lights, ripped signs out of the ground and sent construction barricades scudding across the wet pavement. Milton’s winds also shredded plywood meant to keep the storm out, and a portion of a downtown building’s brick facade collapsed, partially blocking a road.

A flash flood emergency was in effect for Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater, the hurricane center said, after parts of the area were blasted with more than 16 inches of rain. Additional rainfall amounts of 2 to 4 inches are expected across portions of the east-central to northeast Florida coast through Thursday morning, the hurricane center said in its morning update.

"This rainfall will continue to bring the risk of considerable flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding," the updated warned.

Fifteen people, including several young children, were rescued from a Tampa home Wednesday night after it was struck by a collapsed tree, officials said. Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw told reporters at a news conference Thursday that the family was taken to a shelter at a nearby elementary school.

A tree fell on another home in the Tampa area, causing several injuries, Tampa Fire Chief Barbara Tripp said. It’s unclear how many people were in the house and were rescued by firefighters. Tripp said her team responded to over 100 emergency calls through the night, including many reporting fire alarms, downed power lines and minor medical issues.

ZooTampa said Thursday that it was without power because of Hurricane Milton, but the zoo's hurricane ride-out team made it through the night, spokeswoman Sandra Torres told USA TODAY in an email. The zoo “sustained some damage” from high winds, Torres said, and cleanup and recovery efforts will begin later, after a full assessment and once roads are safe to travel. For now, the zoo said, all animals will remain in their night houses and hurricane shelter locations.

"All 1,000 animals entrusted in our care are safe," Torres said. “We’re doing OK and thankful that we survived hurricane Milton."

The zoo’s six orangutans shared their night house with birds they had never seen before, said Tiffany Burns, ZooTampa’s senior director of animal programs. The “very intelligent, very intuitive” orangutans were fascinated by being around their new neighbors and some of their “different personalities” came out as a result, Burns said.

− Claire Thornton

David Green, who sheltered at a loved one’s home in Valrico, Florida, just east of Tampa, said Hurricane Milton’s winds were some of the worst he’s experienced. Green, 62, – whose house in St. Pete Beach had to be completely emptied after it was flooded by Helene – took to the interior hallways and closets as Milton bore down. He, his family and several dogs huddled as they listened to what sounded like branches crash on the roof.

“Streets are flooded here. Lots of trees down," he texted to USA TODAY. "Lots of vinyl and wood fences down in the neighborhood."

Eager to see whether there was any damage at his home, Green hopes he will soon be able to drive into St. Pete Beach. The Pinellas County Sheriff's Office announced early Thursday that all roads into the county, which encompasses St. Pete Beach and the city of St. Petersburg, will be "closed until further notice due to hazardous conditions." Rescue efforts were underway in the county, the sheriff's office said in social media posts Thursday.

"Several trees down, wires down and hazards throughout Pinellas County," one post said. "Continue to shelter in place."

Joe Malinowski, who became known as Lt. Dan for riding out Milton on his 22-foot sailboat, said he had no problems during the storm, raising his arm in triumph as the sun rose over Tampa Bay on Thursday morning.Malinowski, 54, had been live-streaming his adventures aboard the Seashell for several days, catching media attention for his plan to stay moored in the harbor as Milton passed.“The hand of God was over Tampa,” Malinowski declared Friday morning. “It wasn’t too bad.”Thursday morning, a growing stream of Tampa residents made their way to Bayshore Boulevard to check on Malinowski, whose “Lt. Dan” nickname refers to a similarly disabled Forrest Gump movie character. Malinowski is missing his lower left leg.“You made it! I’m so glad you’re safe,” Tampa resident Monet Rahall, 28, called down to Malinowski.Rahall said she had to come check on Malinowski for herself, after watching his videos while she rode out the storm at her nearby home.“He’s an icon,” she said. “I saw him on the internet and wanted to see him for myself.”

Milton's race across the state brought torrential rain and flash floods to parts of the east coast and left Melbourne Orlando International Airport with a 30-by-40-foot hole in the roof. A large part of the airport's ceiling came down about 2 a.m., according to Greg Donovan, executive director of the airport about an hour east of Orlando.

"We had a large section of our skylight, technically called a caul wall, come down in the center of the terminal," Donovan said. The good news, he said, was that it "been really dry since that initial wave so we haven't had a lot of water intrusion."

The airport was closed at the time and no injuries were reported. Donovan said he was was mobilizing crews to patch the roof and limit water damage.

− Jeffrey Meesey and Jennifer Sangalang, Florida Today

In Venice, 70 miles south of Tampa, there were widespread power outages and loss of cellphone service in some areas Thursday. The city said assessment teams were starting to examine flooding and other storm damage and asked people to stay off those roads a little longer.

Because so many elderly people retire in Venice − the city’s median age is 68 years old, compared to 38 for the U.S − local officials had worked closely with their state counterparts to evacuate nursing home residents and others who could not move themselves.

Officials reported late Wednesday that a crane collapsed near a building construction site in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida. According to the Tampa Bay Times, the crane left a gaping hole in an office building that houses several businesses, including the newspaper. No injuries were immediately reported.

“The biggest thing right now is just reminding focus to stay off the roadway. Almost all of our traffic lights are out and people should treat those as a 4-way stop,” said Venice spokeswoman Brianne Lorenz. “There is a lot of debris and down powerlines so the roadways are not safe yet.”

“The public is urged to continue to shelter in place” but avoid the area, the city of St. Petersburg said in a statement.

"We can confirm one crane cab in the upper section of the mast has fallen," said John Catsimatidis, the CEO of Red Apple Group, which is developing the skyscraper, the Times reported. "We are working with city officials and others to assess the situation."

Milton battered the Tampa Bay area with high winds and heavy rains after making landfall late Wednesday. St. Petersburg, Florida, officials confirmed that destructive winds damaged the roof at Tropicana Field, home of Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays. The ballpark was repurposed as a base camp for thousands of emergency responders as Florida braced for Milton. Footage from local television stations and photos shared on social media showed part of the stadium’s roof torn off amid high winds.

The domed stadium has been home to the Tampa Bay Rays since the team's inaugural season in 1998, though plans are in the works to replace it by 2028. It's among the smallest MLB stadiums by seating capacity, but Tropicana Field features a slanted roof designed at an angle in part to better protect it from hurricanes.

− Eric Lagatta

The high speed winds blowing off Hurricane Milton and whipping into tornadoes were keeping first responders along Florida’s Gulf Coast off the roads and unable to attempt any rescues when the storm hit. Florida authorities had been warning that although people can call 911 for help over the phone, they would effectively be on their own until Milton passed over. The warning came after 911 centers received a number of calls at the height of Hurricane Helene that authorities could not answer.

“None of us want to sit on our thumbs not being able to do what we want to do,” said Nick Pachota, a veteran first responder and mayor of Venice, Florida. “But unfortunately if one of us gets hurt there’s no one to rescue the rescuer.”

− Michael Loria

'We will not be able to come': Hurricane Milton forces first responders to hunker down

The center of Milton came ashore near Siesta Key as a Category 3 hurricane with 120-mph winds at 8:30 p.m., according to the National Hurricane Center. Siesta Key is a barrier island with 5,500 residents about five miles south of Sarasota or 50 miles south of Tampa on Florida's west coast. It's just over 100 miles southwest of Orlando. The storm took a northeasterly path through the state Peninsula, exiting near Cape Canaveral.

On the forecast track, the center of Milton will move away from Florida and to the north of the Bahamas on Thursday.

− Cheryl McCloud and C. A. Bridges, USA TODAY NETWORK - Florida

Reported tornadoes tore through parts of southwest Florida on Wednesday, including in Collier County and Lee County, causing extensive damage across Fort Myers and Cape Coral.

North Fort Myers resident Scott Fincher was sitting on the lanai of his Pine Lakes community home with his family, waiting for Milton. As they waited, they passed the time watching the local news, which was reporting on the "tornado outbreak.”

Reporters then announced a tornado was headed into sister community Lake Fairways, which shares a boundary with Pine Lakes. That’s when Fincher knew: they had to hide.

Fincher immediately began moving everyone into the home: his wife, his sister-in-law and his dog. “Just as we were moving everybody in, that’s when it came through,” Fincher said, “and when I heard the rumbling.”

“It was a wall of black,” Fincher said. “It was just as black as could be . . . I felt fear. You could feel the ground shaking a little bit, the house and everything.”

− Kate Cimini, Fort Myers News-Press

Hurricane Milton could result in losses of up to $100 billion for the global insurance industry, creating a surge in 2025 reinsurance prices that could boost some insurance companies' shares, analysts said Wednesday.

Milton, which slammed into Florida's already storm-blasted west coast Wednesday night, spawned at least 19 tornadoes and caused damage in numerous counties, destroying around 125 homes, most of them mobile homes, according to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

"At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so you have to shelter in place and just hunker down," DeSantis said upon announcing the landfall.

Insured losses from Milton could range from $60 billion to $100 billion if the hurricane makes direct landfall in the densely populated area of Tampa, analysts at Morningstar DBRS said. A loss of $100 billion would put Milton on par with Katrina in 2005, they added, adding that insured losses would likely be "substantial but not catastrophic."

Contributing: Reuters