Milton in Tampa Bay

Following Hurricane Milton's devastating impact on Florida, recovery efforts are underway with officials assessing significant damage around Tampa Bay. The storm, which made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, resulted in at least 16 fatalities, extensive destruction of homes and businesses, and left over 2.4 million customers without power. Torrential rains caused record flooding, particularly in Hillsborough and Pasco counties, where rivers remained at flood stage days after the storm. Notably, the storm's trajectory spared Tampa Bay from the worst storm surge, but strong winds and tornadoes still caused havoc, including damage to Tropicana Field and a construction crane collapse. Recovery is expected to be lengthy, with many residents returning to find homes damaged by water and wind. Despite the destruction, officials noted that the situation could have been worse, considering the scale of the storms faced in the past two weeks.