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He Hurricane Milton entered the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after a devastating passage through the US state of Florida, where it spawned a tornado, destroyed homes, left at least 10 dead and millions without powerbut it did not cause the catastrophic flooding that was feared.

Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state had avoided the worst-case scenario but warned the damage was still extensive.

The Tampa Bay area appears to have escaped the storm surge that prompted the worst warnings.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said at a White House briefing that the government has reports of at least 10 deaths from Milton, adding that They could have been caused by a tornado.

Five people were killed in St. Lucie, on Florida’s east coast, authorities said. About 45 tornadoes were reported throughout the day, mostly in the central and eastern parts of the state, according to the National Weather Service.

More than 3 million Florida homes and businesses are without power Thursday morning, PowerOutage.us reports. At least some have been waiting days for supplies to be restored after Hurricane Helen passed through the area nearly two weeks ago.

“One of the blessings for us is that the expected storm surge did not occur. It saved us from a lot of things,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said during a morning press conference.

In the Tampa area, the storm toppled trees, scattered debris on roads and damaged power lines, according to local news video. Some neighborhoods were flooded, but the extent of the damage won’t be known until crews assess the damage, Castor said.

The storm made landfall on Florida’s west coast Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane on the five-stage Saffir-Simpson scale. with a maximum sustained wind speed of 205 kilometers per hour.

The storm was less powerful than the Category 5 hurricane that threatened the state as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida.

Milton became even weaker as he crossed land. falling to a Category 1 with maximum sustained winds of 145 kilometers per hour after reaching the east coast of the peninsula, the National Hurricane Center (CNH) said. The storm moved off the Atlantic coast of Florida, striking communities on the east coast.

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The eye of the storm struck Siesta Key, a barrier island city of about 5,400 people near Sarasota, about 100 kilometers south of Tampa Bay.

Reuters