The five people were killed by tornados in St. Lucie County, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told reporters. National Weather Service survey teams were working to confirm whether as many as 25 tornados touched down, and officials estimated they destroyed numerous homes across central Florida.

The storm weakened from a Category 5 hurricane to a Category 3 by the time it made landfall, and storm surge peaked at 8-10 ft in some areas, which was less than seen during Hurricane Helene two weeks earlier. But heavy rainfall caused more inland flooding.

Crews worked around the clock ahead of Milton to remove 3,000 truckloads of debris from Helene as part of preparations. More than 50,000 line workers were in the state restoring power, and the Florida Dept. of Transportation had more than 300 crews in the field and 150 bridge inspectors dispatched. DeSantis said more than 620 bridges in the state had been inspected by the afternoon of Oct. 10.

Tampa International Airport said in a statement that its fuel depot lost power, six boarding bridges were damaged and crews were still clearing debris, but it planned to reopen the morning of Oct. 11.

Some of the most high-profile damage occurred in St. Petersburg, where a tower crane partially collapsed and the roof of Tropicana Field baseball stadium was damaged.

Read more from James Leggate at RECORD's sister site, ENR.com.