The death toll rises to 16

As authorities in Florida worked to restore power to more than 2 million homes and businesses in the wake of Hurricane Milton, some communities remained flooded Friday as residents rescued belongings from damaged homes.

Milton made landfall Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 120 miles per hour before carving a path of destruction across the state, flooding coastal and inland communities with rain and storm surge, while powerful winds caused power outages and large sailboats swayed on the front lawns.

Milton caused a deadly tornado outbreak that killed at least six people in St. Lucie County on Florida’s east coast. Nation Weather Service crews were expected to survey the damage Friday and determine exactly how many tornadoes had formed. Across the state, the storm has been linked to at least 16 deaths.

The Tampa Bay area, which is vulnerable to storm surges, avoided a worst-case scenario as Milton moved south and water moved away from the coastline. Still, the storm’s winds caused a crane to crash into a downtown office building and destroy the roof of Tropicana Field, home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team.

Roads across the state remained impassable after Milton’s heavy rains and storm surges. In parts of St. Petersburg, the storm dumped more than 18 inches of rain, at one point dropping 9.5 inches in just 3 hours, the weather service said.

Developments:

∎ According to USA TODAY’s outage tracker, 2.2 million utility customers were without power Friday morning.

∎ Rivers across the state were above flood stage Friday, prompting warnings from the weather service. In Hillsborough County and the community of Alafia, near Tampa, experts say “major flooding is forecast.”

∎ In northeast Florida, the coastal areas of Duval, Brevard, St. Johns and Volusia counties are still under a coastal flooding advisory, with large breaking waves of 2.5 to 3.5 being warned, according to the weather service meters and life-threatening rip currents.

At least 16 people have died in Florida as a result of Hurricane Milton, authorities said.

In Tampa, a woman in her early 70s was found under a branch of a large tree that fell on her home, city police said in a statement. Based on the preliminary investigation, “post-hurricane restoration efforts were underway on the property when the limb fell,” police said, adding that the death appeared to be accidental.

In Orange County, which includes the city of Orlando, a man was found dead in his yard. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement that it “appears the man stepped on a downed power line while clearing debris from Hurricane Milton.”

Elsewhere, two deaths were confirmed in St. Petersburg, four in Volusia County, and one each in Polk and Citrus counties, as well as six in St. Lucie County due to tornadoes there.

National weather teams will assess the damage and strength of suspected tornadoes on Florida’s Treasure Coast on Friday and Saturday.

42 warnings have been issued throughout East Central Florida and NWS officials have yet to determine the exact number of twisters that have formed in the region.

Residents assessed their neighborhoods Thursday following Hurricane Milton. Homes were destroyed, trees were downed, cars were flipped and at least six people died from a suspected tornado at Spanish Lakes Country Club Village in northern St. Lucie County.

– Gianna Montesano and Colleen Wixon, Treasure Coast Newspapers

This is a development story. Check back for updates.