Hurricane Milton death toll rises following tornado in St. Lucie County

Crystal Coleman sits outside the remains of her home in St. Lucie County, Florida, wondering where she and her daughter will spend the night.

One of at least a dozen tornadoes triggered by Hurricane Milton ripped through this low-income South Florida community, killing at least five residents. At least 16 people are known to have died across the state.

Crystal is happy to be alive but doesn't know what to do next.

“Suddenly the door to my attic flew off, all the items in my house started flying around,” Ms Coleman told BBC News on Thursday.

“It was devastating, we were very scared. It felt like the tornado was in our house.”

Her neighborhood is one of many across the state devastated by Milton as the storm swept across the state, leaving widespread damage and millions of people without power.

The tornadoes formed as Milton approached the state Wednesday evening, an event that forecasters say is sometimes due to tropical weather.

Parts of the Crystal roof were torn off and the windows were blown out. Further up the street, nonprofit workers handed out hundreds of hot meals Thursday. The electricity is out and there is no running water. People are grateful for a warm meal, a smile and a helping hand.

Desolation lies on the main street. A semi truck on the side. The canopy tore off a gas station. Trees uprooted. Some residents say they have asked the U.S. Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) for help, but for now what they're most worried about tonight is shelter and food for their families.

Milton's devastating development is still being assessed by workers across the state, who warn the death toll is likely to rise further in the coming days.

The storm brought heavy rainfall of up to 45 cm in some areas. Neighborhoods and streets remain flooded, with businesses, homes and stadiums ripped apart by the winds – but Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state had not experienced “the worst-case scenario.”

Many were evacuated, including about 80,000 people who stayed in shelters overnight, he said.

“My feeling is that many of the people who were in the evacuation zones have left the country,” DeSantis said.

However, emergency services were still deployed in hundreds of rescue missions across the state in large vehicles, boats and helicopters. This includes more than 400 people who were rescued from a severely flooded apartment complex in Pinellas County, and a Rescue of a ship captain by the US Coast Guard who ended up in the water 30 miles (48 km) from shore, clinging to a floating cooler.

Maria Bowman, 60, hunkered down in her bright pink mobile home in North Fort Myers, riding out the fierce winds of Milton.

Their home, 600 meters from the Caloosahatchee River and at risk of storm surges, was in evacuation zone A – the category for the most vulnerable areas.

She felt her home rattle as Milton came ashore. Her power went out around 10 p.m.

“It sounded like an explosion,” she told BBC News. “Boom. No power.”

Ms. Bowman, who says she has dealt with numerous hurricanes, says she is ready to leave the state.

“There are too many hurricanes,” she said. “One day you survive, the next you don’t. Who knows.”

Governor DeSantis warned that flooding could continue in the coming days. He noted that the death toll could continue to rise as the storm's impact becomes clearer.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor expressed relief that her city did not experience the storm surge that was feared.

But the region experienced destruction.

In nearby St. Petersburg, the Major League Baseball stadium where the Tampa Bay Rays play was severely damaged. The wind tore apart the stadium dome, which glows bright orange when the team wins a home game.

A crane also broke apart in the middle of downtown St. Petersburg, collapsing and crashing into high-rise buildings as the storm passed through.

Castor and other officials have spent days urging people along Milton's path to leave their homes or risk death.

Milton made landfall on Wednesday evening local time as a category three hurricane, packing winds of 124 miles per hour (200 km/h). Early in its existence, it was classified more than once as a category five hurricane, which is the strongest type of storm.

Milton's arrival comes two weeks after the southeastern United States was hit by Hurricane Helene, killing more than 200 people and leaving many more missing. The cleanup work is ongoing.

Milton, which has developed into a post-tropical cyclone, crossed Florida and traveled through the Atlantic Ocean north of the Bahamas.