(This story has been updated with new information and photos)

Hurricane Milton hammered parts of Florida with hurricane-force winds and rain as it moved off the east coast on Thursday.

As of 8 a.m., the center of Milton was "pulling away from the east coast of Florida" but still bringing heavy rainfall and gusty winds near the Space Coast, according to the National Hurricane Center. The Category 1 hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and was moving east-northeast at 18 mph.

Strong winds and heavy rain hit Volusia and Flagler counties overnight and into Thursday morning. Officials are urging residents to stay in place until roads and other infrastructure can be cleared for safety.

Check here for updates on Thursday.

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Over 120 tornado warnings before Hurricane Milton: Several Florida fatalities reported

Flagler County estimates $1.9M in preliminary damage, to continue assessing Friday

Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said personnel Thursday were checking for damages to homes in an effort that will continue Friday.

No homes were reported destroyed in Flagler County, Lord said during an online press conference Thursday evening. Additionally, so far 39 homes had "affected damage;" nine had minor damage; three had major damage; and 21 were inaccessible.

Affected damage is when damage to a building is less than 20%, he said.

The numbers for all the damage so far added up to $1.9 million, but that is a preliminary number since property is still being evaluated, he said.

Flagler County is also keeping a close watch on Crescent Lake and Dead Lake because both are linked to the St. Johns River and rising levels on the St. Johns could lead to flooding from the lakes.

Lord said the shelter at Rymfire Elementary remained open and about 20 people were still there. If they still need shelter tomorrow, they will likely be relocated to a community center so the school can be prepared for class, which reopens Monday.

Lord also said officials were not aware of any deaths or direct-storm related injuries.

— Frank Fernandez

5:43 p.m. Volusia County officials said Thursday that four people had died as a result of Hurricane Milton and another 170 had to be rescued from their homes.

“Although we did not experience as much devastation as the communities on the west coast, we still experienced significant impacts that led to severe property damage, and, sadly, the loss of four of our residents’ lives,” said Clint Mecham, emergency management director.

The county has established a curfew starting at 9 p.m. Thursday night and ending at 5 a.m. Friday, and urged people not to go out if they don't have to.

“Please, this is not the time for our citizens and our visitors here in Volusia County to be out on the roads unless absolutely necessary,” Mecham said. “Not only are you putting yourselves at risk by traversing the roadways, but you could also hinder access to our first responders and our public works and public utilities workers as they try to assist our residents in trying to get back to the new normal in restoring our critical infrastructure.”

5:28 p.m. Due to ongoing concerns regarding general community safety after dark, Flagler County officials have extended the 7 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. curfew until further notice. The county aims to ensure residents’ safety while allowing emergency personnel to manage any incidents that may arise overnight.

“We are prioritizing the safety of our community,” Flagler County Emergency Management Director Jonathan Lord said in a press release Thursday. “The curfew is a precautionary measure that allows first responders to operate without interference and protects residents from potential dangers associated with flooding, downed powerlines, and debris.”

While the evacuation order has been lifted for the previously identified areas, officials want to remind residents that flooding, and storm surge conditions may still be intermittently present this evening along the Intracoastal Waterway and over the coming days in the Crescent Lake and Dead Lake areas. Residents are urged to remain informed and aware of this potential hazard and avoid these areas when flooding is present.

— Ashley Varese

Eugena Green and her husband George own a home in Daytona Beach's Midtown area that got flooded two years ago during Tropical Storm Ian. They were still in the process of making repairs when along came Hurricane Milton.

"We're flooded," Green said in between sobs during a phone interview Thursday afternoon. "There's 10 of us here including a 3-month old. We can't even open the door. The water in our house is ankle-high. The water is cold. The water is brown. The streets around us are flooded."

The Greens live at 229 Graham St., between Magnolia and Orange avenues, a block and a half south of International Speedway Boulevard.

"The water started coming in our house around 10 p.m.," said Green, who is both disabled and a diabetic. "It still wasn't finished getting repaired from Ian when we lost everything. Now it's all messed up all over again."

The last time the Greens got flooded out, they were put up in a motel for four months through FEMA's Transitional Sheltering Assistance program. "I tried to call FEMA this morning. They said Volusia County hasn't been declared a disaster under Milton yet, so they can't take applications for Milton."

Green said she and her husband, who works as a floor technician at Metra Electronics, and his uncle Bruce Green are willing to stay at their house, if necessary, but said it is imperative that the rest of their family including three teenagers and the 3-month old grandchild get taken to a shelter as quickly as possible. "We're all walking around here with no shoes on," she said.

− Clayton Park

With Rymfire Elementary School still open as an evacuation shelter, Flagler Schools are canceling classes and all extracurricular activities on Friday.

Extracurriculars will resume as normal over the weekend, with students, faculty and staff expected to return to campus on Monday − which had been a previously scheduled teacher work day, which will now instead be a makeup day for Hurricane Helene.

− Mark Harper

Residents wanting information directly from Volusia County officials about Hurricane Milton's impacts can watch or listen to a press conference at 4 p.m. The event will be livestreamed on the Volusia County Emergency Management Facebook page, the Volusia County Facebook page, YouTube, and www.volusia.org.

If residents have questions, the Citizens Information Center will be taking 24/7 calls at 866-345-0345 until further notice. Residents can stay updated by downloading the Volusia Emergency Management app, following the County’s social media channels, or visiting www.volusia.org.

− Mark Harper

3 p.m. Several homes are underwater in the Glen Eagles subdivision off of Orange Camp Road in south DeLand.

Neighbors Cassandra and Steven Geller said emergency personnel rescued the homeowners and some animals from the residence at the corner of Orange Camp Road and South Glen Eagles Drive.

Across the street from Glen Eagles subdivision, one house in the lower end of the Bentley Green community was also underwater.

“Rescue workers were in the water in the middle of the street and they said they could not touch bottom,” Steven Geller said.

“One guy was shouting he couldn’t touch bottom, and as he came toward our driveway he said, ‘Now I can touch bottom,’” Cassandra Geller said.

City of DeLand spokesman Chris Graham said flooding was reported in Spring Hill but it was not as bad as that in Glen Eagles.

High water rescues were also carried out at an apartment complex in south DeLand, Graham said.

— Patricio Balona

2:39 p.m. In a Thursday afternoon update, the city of Edgewater said its police department is “putting barricades up to block access to heavily flooded roads to prevent wakes.”

Several of these roads are located in the Florida Shores neighborhood, according to the city’s road closure map website.

Edgewater’s environmental services personnel are “pumping the 18th Street canal along Riverside Drive,” which will be closed between Virginia Street and Indian River Boulevard/State Road 442 “until further notice,” the city’s Facebook update said.

“We are asking residents to shelter in place, if at all possible, for their safety and the safety of those working on clean up and recovery,” the city added.

— Brenno Carillo

2:14 p.m. Port Orange Mayor Don Burnette said a woman died when a tree fell on her mobile home off Madeline Avenue west of Nova Road. He believes the mobile home is on Dove Avenue and is not part of a mobile home park. The fatality occurred sometime overnight. He did not yet know the woman’s age.

“I hate to report bad news like this but this underscores how serious this hurricane was,” he said. Burnette, who was blocked from leaving his community this morning because of flood waters, said he now expects to head to the city’s emergency management office shortly. (He didn’t specify whether the flood waters receded or if he is being picked up in a vehicle better able to drive through flood water.)

Earlier Thursday morning, Burnette said the reports he's was getting on the effects of Hurricane Milton on his city were not good.

"It's bad. There is widespread flooding throughout the city. It's all the same hotspots as before, anywhere that's low-lying," he said.

Prior to Hurricane Milton's arrival, Burnette expressed his hope that some of the flooding could be lessened compared to two years ago when the back-to-back tropical storms Ian and Nicole caused a dam at the city's Cambridge Canal drainage system to be breached.

The Cambridge system was fixed so "there was no equipment failure this time," he said on Thursday. "The dam held. But if you get six inches of water in your house versus two feet (like before), it's all relative. You're still flooded."

Burnette on Thursday morning said he was hoping to get out to personally tour hurricane-affected areas in his city, but said, "I can't get out of my own neighborhood (because of flooded streets)."

Burnette is term-limited so was unable to run to be elected for another term as mayor. His last day as the city's top elected official ends in early December.

"My last seven weeks in office are going to be busy, no doubt about it," he said of the challenge he now faces in overseeing recovery efforts from Hurricane Milton in Port Orange. "We've got to get FEMA in here (as well as other disaster relief agencies). We'll figure this out."

Rich and Janet Hein live in a rural area off Tomoka Farms Road that has a Port Orange mailing address but is actually in unincorporated Volusia County.

"Our road (Poinsettia Drive) is blocked by downed trees and flooded, but houses and electric are both good," he wrote in a text message. "Happy to take a warm shower after moving some road debris."

Mike Springer, PIO for the city of Port Orange, sent out a press release earlier today that stated: "Over the past four days, the city has received around 18 inches of rain, with 13 inches falling in the last 24 hours, along with a storm surge of 5 feet."

Spring's statement continued: "While there's significant flooding and damage, our crews are working hard to clear roads and assist those in need. We are encouraging our residents to please stay indoors to stay safe and allow our teams to continue their efforts. Avoid driving on flooded roads, which can leave you stranded or push water into already flooded homes."

— Clayton Park

1:14 p.m. Volusia County announced it is extending its curfew for a second night. The curfew starts at 9 p.m. Thursday and continues until 5 a.m. Friday.

Also, a Volusia spokesman said as of noon, the bridges linking the barrier island with the mainland remain closed to traffic.

"At this time, all of them are restricted as they are being inspected. We will issue notifications as the restrictions are lifted," said Clayton Jackson, public information officer for the county.

Volusia County Beach Safety has closed the ocean for swimming, citing extreme hazards including rip currents, high tides and large waves.

— Mark Harper

12:54 p.m. In Holly Hill, Marina Grande resident Alice Gipson, who lives on the 21st floor of the condo complex's south tower, described trying to sleep when Hurricane Milton hit was impossible.

"When our TV went out around 11 (p.m.), I took a Xanax and went to bed, but it didn't do any good. It was like being in a freight train. You could hear all the rain (from the hurricane) hitting (the building) all night long," she said, adding that her husband Jeff Hurd was particularly upset because he didn't get to finish watching his baseball game.

Earlier in the day on Wednesday, the couple hosted a national TV news crew from CBS who interviewed them to get their thoughts on the impending hurricane. "We had family members from Philadelphia and Wilmington, Delaware, call us to say they saw us," said Gipson.

Unlike the back-to-back tropical storms Ian and Nicole two years ago when Marina Grande residents were stranded in their condo complex for days, "We never lost power or electric (last night)," said Gipson.

The 25-story Marina Grande's elevators remain temporarily out-of-service. Gipson said residents haven't been told when they will become operational again.

"Our elevators are all at the top and won't be in use until it's safe," she said. "Everyone was told (in advance) that they might not have elevator service and we were prepared to stay."

However, like before, the twin-tower 25-story Marina Grande remains surrounded by flood waters on Riverside Drive, which Gipson shared photos of that she took from the balcony of her condo unit on Thursday morning.

"The dock at Riverside Park (next door) got broken up, whjch didn't happen before," she observed.

The dock behind the Marina Grande, which was heavily damaged during Tropical Storm Ian two years ago, was recently replaced as was the dock at the nearby Sickler Park underneath the south side of the Seabreeze Bridge. Both got destroyed by Hurricane Milton.

― Clayton Park

12:04 p.m. At least one person died in Volusia County and more are being rescued from Hurricane 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.

First responders have been rescuing people from flooding and were still doing so as of about 11 a.m. Thursday, Mecham said. At least some of the rescues have come from Port Orange, Midtown in Daytona Beach and South Daytona.

The storm is not gone yet and resident shouldn’t let their guard down, Mecham said.

Hurricane Milton is expected to bring strong wind gusts possibly over 90 mph as it exits over northern Brevard county this afternoon. That is expected to bring storm surge of 3 to 5 feet and coincide with the high tide at about 3 p.m., Mecham said.

The Dunlawton and international Speedway Bridge approaches are underwater. The county closed coastal bridges on Wednesday and has not reopened them yet. People can leave the coastal areas but not return over the bridges. This is to allow first responders, utility workers and other essential personnel to get in and do their work. That includes ensuring areas are safe for travel.

The county is urging people to stay home, even though the curfew was lifted at 8 a.m. Powerlines are down and roads are flooded.

One example of the potential danger is washed-out roads. A large chunk of road is missing on 17-92 south of Enterprise Road and Orange City, and the Florida Department of Transportation has closed all lanes in that area and is detouring traffic.

The impacts in Volusia County appear to be widespread, but it’s too early to know just how bad the storm was for this area.

“We are getting reports all over the county of roof damage and that sort of property damage,” Mecham said. “We’re still compiling that information.”

— Sheldon Gardner

10:11 a.m. All lanes of U.S. 17-92 are closed south of Enterprise Road in Orange City because a large section of road washed out. Traffic is being detoured to East Highbanks Road and Enterprise Road, according to the Florida Department of Transportation.

FDOT crews are conducting damage assessments. For updates on bridge and road conditions, go to FL511.com.

— Sheldon Gardner

9:41 a.m. Many Palm Coast roads are impassable due to significant flooding, downed trees and downed power lines, according to a city press release. Several major roads, including Seminole Woods Boulevard, Belle Terre Parkway, Old Kings Road and U.S. 1 in the southern part of Flagler County, have high water levels.

“Do not attempt to drive on any road covered in water,” officials said in the release. “It is extremely dangerous, and the depth or condition beneath the water can be misleading.

“If you drive in these dangerous conditions and need to be rescued, it diverts emergency responders away from critical hurricane recovery efforts,” the release continued.

More than 50,000 homes across the county are without power, and power restoration efforts are ongoing.

Palm Coast has deployed all essential city departments — Fire, Public Works, Utility, Stormwater, and Parks — to conduct a first push to clear debris and begin restoration work.

— Ashley Varese

8:55 a.m. Orange City officials are urging people to stay off roads because of "multiple roadways that have been completely washed away or are flooded." Crews will assess the damage. The damage includes part of U.S. 17-92 south of Enterprise Road.

― Sheldon Gardner

8:31 a.m. The city of DeLand is urging residents to conserve water because its intake structure for things such as toilet water is "completely flooded." City crews were building a berm around it this morning.

The city is also asking people to stay off roads because "many are impassable due to downed trees, power lines and flooding."

The city has received 15 inches of rain since Wednesday evening and 19 inches this week.

― Sheldon Gardner

7:58 a.m. Officials in Port Orange are urging residents to stay off city roads this morning as “crews will begin to assess the impacts as soon as it’s safe to do so,” the city’s Facebook page said Thursday morning.

Early reports show the city was hit with approximately 11 inches of rain overnight and saw sustained winds of 100 mph.

“Please know all possible resources will be allocated to recovery,” the city added. “We have begun work to restore things back to normal.”

― Brenno Carillo

7:35 a.m. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Emergency Response Team has been working through the night to clear downed trees, according to the Flagler Sheriff's Office.

― Sheldon Gardner

7:21 a.m. Flooding from Hurricane Milton is straining the city of Bunnell's sewer system, lift stations and wastewater plant, according to a Facebook post from the city. Because of that, the city is asking every resident and business to conserve water.

"To help the canal systems, slow down flooding and assist the operations at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, WE NEED YOUR HELP," the city said. "Please conserve water by avoiding doing laundry, limit showers, do not run the dishwasher and flush when necessary. Every drop we can keep out of the sewer system helps!!!"

― Sheldon Gardner

7:08 a.m. High-water rescue teams responded to calls in South Daytona this morning, according to a Facebook post from the Volusia Sheriff's Office. Further details weren't provided.

The sheriff's office urged people to stay off the roads because conditions are hazardous across Volusia County.

The sheriff's office also posted a video of Sheriff Mike Chitwood touring the county early Thursday morning.

"Throughout Volusia, there were lots of downed tree branches, the rain was still coming down and many of the streets had standing water," the sheriff's office said. "Please continue to shelter in place. Remember, the curfew remains in effect until at least 8 a.m. Thursday."

― Sheldon Gardner

6:42 a.m. Thousands of customers are without power in Volusia-Flagler.

According to findenergy.com, as of 6:16 a.m., Flagler County had 50,053 customers without power, while Volusia County had 149,825 customers without power.

― Sheldon Gardner

6:28 a.m. People with storm-related questions in Volusia County can call the Citizens Information Center at 866-345-0345. The hotline will be open 24 hours a day until further notice.

― Sheldon Gardner

6 a.m. Flooding and high winds are still a concern across east central Florida, and wind gusts of 50 to 70 mph or greater are still being felt. A flash flood warning is in effect in Volusia County until 6 a.m., along with a hurricane warning and a flood watch until 8 p.m. A storm surge warning is in effect in coastal areas.

A hurricane warning is still in effect in Flagler County. A flash flood warning is in effect until 8 a.m., and a flood watch is in effect until tonight. Coastal areas are still under a storm surge warning.

― Sheldon Gardner