What we know about Hurricane Milton
- Hurricane Milton made landfall at 8:30 tonight near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm.
- President Joe Biden said he predeployed thousands of federal personnel to areas affected by the storm, including more than 1,000 Coast Guard members.
- Florida broke its record for the number of tornado warnings in a single day, with more than 100 generated today.
- NBC News Lite, a lightweight version of NBCNews.com available in emergency situations when internet connectivity may be limited, has been turned on for readers in Florida, North Carolina and Tennessee.
Hurricane Milton makes landfall
Hurricane Milton has made landfall near Siesta Key, the National Hurricane Center said.
The eye wall of the huge storm earlier began moving onshore near Tampa and St. Petersburg. Life-threatening rain, storm surge and wind all preceded the landfall of the center and will continue, the National Hurricane Center said.
Emergency declaration OK'd in Florida; thousands of federal personnel ready to respond
The federal government approved an emergency declaration ahead of Milton’s making landfall, with “thousands of federal personnel on the ground” ready to respond, Biden said.
At a briefing, Biden said that at his direction, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “prepositioned” search-and-rescue teams, helicopters and high-speed water vehicles “as close to the storm as possible so they’re ready to conduct life-saving missions.”
The director of FEMA will also be in Florida’s emergency operations center, and the federal government has 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water at the ready, Biden said.
'Milton still carries incredible destructiveness,' Biden warns
Hurricane Milton "still carries incredible destructiveness, can wipe out communities and cause loss of life," Biden said.
The storm surge is still expected to be up to 13 feet, he said in a news briefing, urging people to listen to local officials and follow all their safety instructions.