Hurricane Milton latest: 'Miracle' baby born after perilous journey; man saved clinging to cool box - as deaths rise (2024)

That brings an end to our coverage of the chaos and destruction brought by Hurricane Milton for this afternoon.

Before we go, here's a reminder of what happened today:

• Recovery crews and residents in Florida are working to clean up the havoc brought by the storm;
• The death toll has now risen to 16, according to Sky's US partner NBC News;
• More than 2.2 million customers in Florida are still without power;
• Milton is likely to cost insurers between $30-60bn, analysts say;
• Airports in Florida are reopening as international flights resume;
• A Florida couple are celebrating their 'miracle' baby, born as Milton hit;
• Sky'sJames Matthewshas touched base with Tampa resident 'Lieutenant Dan', who went viral after defying an evacuation order;
• A man clinging to a cool box floating 30 miles offshore has been rescued by the US Coast Guard;
• Some good news for Tampa Bay as clear weather is forecast over the coming week.

By Jo Robinson, weather producer

The Atlantic hurricane season got off to a slow start this year, but there have now been 13 named storms – and there could be even more to come.

Back in May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that this year's season - running from 1 June to 30 November - had an 85% chance of being more active than usual.

An average year will see a total of 14 named storms, of which seven will be regular hurricanes and three will be major ones.

After a slow start - the slowest in 10 years - things have picked up recently. Of the 13 named storms, nine became hurricanes, with four reaching major hurricane status (rated category 3 and above on the Saffir-Simpson scale).

Two have reached category 5, the highest possible; Beryl - the most powerful storm to ever make landfall so early in the season in early June - and Milton, which hit Florida this week.

August was unusually quiet, likely due to thunderstorm activity over Africa being further north than usual, but things picked up through September and early October.

We are past the peak of the season but there are more than six weeks left - so there is still time for more hurricanes to form.

And people in Floridaknow all too well the chance of hurricanes arriving later in the year.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit towards the end of October, causing 30 deaths and around $19bn (£14.5bn) worth of damage.

With sea surface temperatures still above average, there's a real chance of more hurricanes this season.

But that doesn't mean any that do form will have an impact on land or Florida itself, in fact, Hurricane Leslie is currently in the central Atlantic not affecting any land masses.

And although major hurricanes can occur in November, they are rare. All we can do is wait and see.

For more on the science behind Hurricane Milton, take a look at the video below.

Three major theme parks in the Orlando area - Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld - are reopening today after closing earlier this week as Hurricane Milton neared.

In a statement, SeaWorld Orlando thanked its "dedicated team of animal care experts, including veterinarians, who remained onsite during the storm to monitor the animals".

Walt Disney World said it had completed its assessments of the storm's impact and will now reopen for the scheduled operating hours.

"Thank you to our cast members who worked during and after the storm to keep guests and each other safe," it said.

Meanwhile, Universal Orlando said it was looking forward to welcoming back its guests, also thanking its team members for their "hard work... during this challenging time".

By Mark Stone, US correspondent

I've spent the day driving north along Florida's west coast from Fort Myers.

The coastline from Fort Myers to Tampa and a little beyond was all part of an evacuation zone as the authorities warned of a once-in-a-generation storm and the meteorologists tried to determine where it would hit.

Milton was, meteorologists said, behaving very unusually. That worried them. It also wobbled north and south as it approached the coastline overnight, compounding the concern.

The only encouraging news overnight was that it reduced in intensity from category 5 down to category 3. That lessened the impact of wind, but not the concerns over a storm surge of water engulfing low-lying areas.

We stopped first at Punta Gorda where boats were overturned in the marina but there was no major structural damage. They dodged the bullet here.

Further north, the coastal highway passes Venice. There we found the streets littered with foliage from the palm trees, tiles ripped from roofs, and billboards down but again, no major damage.

Casey Key lies just north of Venice, reachable via bridges from the mainland. When we arrived it was closed to traffic.

On foot, we joined the National Guard and the local sheriff as they went house to house, checking for anyone who may have tried to sit it out.

The storm surge here entered the houses but locals we spoke to guessed that it was only a foot or two high. Much lower than they had feared, about the same as the surge from Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and a huge relief for them.

Checking the major bridges for structural damage is important but the authorities had opened the Sunshine Skyway Bridge leading north to St Petersburg by the time I arrived.

The focus in St Petersburg itself is the Tropicana Field stadium. Home to Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays, it was being used to house emergency workers but the soft roof was ripped off in the storm.

All in all, the west coast of Florida has been very lucky. This is in part because so many followed the advice and evacuated.

Of course, the danger is that people may feel the warnings were overblown. The mayor of Tampa warned people that they would die if they stayed. Over the top? People did stay and they didn't die. We spoke to people who said it was all exaggerated - politicians and media to blame as usual.

I do wonder if the massive pre-storm warnings this time are in part an over-correction by the Biden administration following the remarkable disinformation campaign from Donald Trump and his cohort.

He has spent the past few weeks since Hurricane Helene claiming that the federal authority has been hindering rescue and recovery efforts, contrary to fact.

And his surrogate, Georgia congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, wrote on social media: "Yes they can control the weather," adding "It's ridiculous for anyone to lie and say it can't be done."

It is not clear quite who "they" are.

The FEMA administrator said the conspiracies were "absolutely the worst I have ever seen".

Hurricane Milton could have been huge, yes, and given this barrage of conspiracy theories, especially about the authorities failing during Helene, they absolutely had to be prepared (over-prepared?) for this.

The hurricane was not the storm people feared. But the storm of American politics is just getting going, less than a month until the election.

Police in Tampa have released a video showing the scale of the flooding in the Tampa suburb of Valrico.

Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is helping residents with evacuations after a river burst its banks.

The Alafia Riveris 25 miles (40km) long and runs from eastern Hillsborough County, east of Tampa, into Tampa Bay.

The sheriff's office has asked people to call emergency services if they need help getting out of their homes.

Watch as police use boats to patrol the heavily flooded streets.

Virgin Atlantic says it plans to operate its flights in and out of Florida as scheduled today in a promising move for UK holidaymakers.

It comes as Tampa and Orlando airports resume international operations following their closure during Hurricane Milton (see post at 11.31am).

A spokesperson for the airline said it will operate an additional service from Orlando to London Heathrow departing this evening, "to ensure our customers can return home as soon as possible".

"The safety and welfare of our customers and crew is always our top priority and following Hurricane Milton, our teams are working hard to assess the impact of the storm on the region," the spokesperson said.

"Our teams on the ground are in contact with hotels and accommodation providers and we are contacting Virgin Atlantic Holidays customers whose holidays may be impacted to discuss their options."

The airline has urged travellers to check the Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Atlantic Holidays website for the latest updates.

Meanwhile, Tui has said one flight to Manchester Airport will fly as scheduled later today.

The travel company urged British tourists already in Florida to follow any instructions given by their hotel management and resort teams.

"Tropical storms and hurricanes are not uncommon in the area and our hotels and resort teams are experienced in preparing for them," it said.

Virgin Atlantic and Tui were among the airlines to cancel flights between the UK and Florida due to the storm.

Recovery crews and residents in Florida are working to clean up the havoc brought by Hurricane Milton.

The deadly storm smashed through the state, devastating homes, flooding large areas and leaving a barrage of destruction.

There is, however, some relief that Milton was not worse after the catastrophic water surge that had been feared did not materialise.

Here is the latest from the day so far;

• The death toll has now risen to 16, according to Sky's US partner NBC News;
• More than 2.4 million customers in Florida are still without power;
• Milton is likely to cost insurers between $30-60bn, analysts say;
• Florida parents are celebrating their 'miracle' baby, born as Milton hit;
• Sky's James Matthews has touched base with Tampa resident 'Lieutenant Dan' who went viral after defying an evacuation order;
• A man clinging to a cool box floating 30 miles offshore has been rescued by the US Coast Guard;
• Some good news for Tampa Bay as clear weather is forecast over the coming week

Tampa Bay's weather service is forecasting no rain in the next week - offering residents a much-needed reprieve.

The clear weather is good news for recovery and clean up efforts across Tampa in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.

"With continuing assessment, clean up and recovery efforts across the area in response to Milton, the forecast into next week remains mostly dry with temps pretty close to normal for this time of year," the National Weather Service for Tampa Bay wrote on X.

Earlier the chief executive of a disaster recovery organisation in Tampa told Sky News he hoped for dry weather over the weekend to allow his team to assist people impacted by the storm as much as possible (see post at 10.41am).

Sky's US correspondent James Matthews has been reporting from Siesta Key - where Hurricane Milton made landfall late on Wednesday local time.

He touches base with 54-year-old Joseph Malinowski who has gone viral as 'Lieutenant Dan' after he defied evacuation orders.

James spoke to 'Lieutenant Dan', a reference to the character from the film Forrest Gump, before the storm hit. He told James his plan was to "hunker down" on his boat.

You can watch the latest from Siesta Key and 'Lieutenant Dan' here.

The death toll from Hurricane Milton has risen to 16, according to Sky's US partner NBC News.

One man was killed after a power line collapsed in Florida's Orange County.

The man in his 60s appears to have stepped on the downed power line while cleaning debris, NBC reports, citing local police.

Meanwhile, Tampa police have said a woman died after a large tree branch collapsed yesterday morning.

In a statement, police said the woman, in her early 70s, was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the preliminary investigation, restoration efforts were being done on a property in the aftermath of the storm when the branch fell.

Five people were also killed intornadoes in the Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida's Atlantic Coast.