AMN/ WEB DESK
More than three million homes and businesses are now without power in Florida after Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s west coast last night as a Category 3 storm. The US National Hurricane Center reports that Hurricane Milton has completed its transit of Florida and has moved off the state’s east coast. However, the centre warns that it is still producing hurricane-force winds and heavy rainfall in east-central Florida. Local media reported that more than 97 per cent of homes in Hardee County were without electricity, with Hillsborough, Manatee, and Sarasota counties also particularly hard-hit. The NHC said, now Milton had weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. The storm’s arrival comes just two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused substantial damage across the southeastern US. Milton marks the ninth hurricane of the 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, which runs from June 1 to November 30. On average, the Atlantic basin experiences about seven hurricanes and three major hurricanes each year.