Hurricane Milton: Millions still in the dark as rescue teams pluck Florida residents from flotsam

Rescue teams plucked Florida residents from the flotsam of Hurricane Milton on Thursday after the storm left at least eight people dead. Arriving just two weeks after the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene, the system knocked out power to more than 3 million customers, flooded barrier islands, tore the roof off a baseball stadium and toppled a construction crane. Among the most dramatic rescues, Hillsborough County officers found a 14-year-old boy floating on a piece of fence and pulled him onto a boat. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued a man who was left clinging to an ice chest in the Gulf of Mexico after his fishing boat was stranded in waters roiled by Hurricane Milton. The agency estimated the man had survived winds of 75 to 90mph (121 to 145kph) and waves up to 25 feet (7.6 metres) high during his night on the water. “This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” Coast Guard Lieutenant Commander Dana Grady said. Despite the destruction, many people expressed relief that Milton was not worse. The hurricane spared Tampa a direct hit, and the lethal storm surge that scientists feared never materialised. Daily Record Homepage: Daily Record Facebook: Daily Record IG: Daily Record Twitter: Daily Record Newsletters: Join our WhatsApp communities here and get the latest news sent straight to your messages: DAILY RECORD: RECORD SPORT RANGERS: RECORD SPORT CELTIC: You can get all the latest news, sport, showbiz and comment at LIKE | COMMENT | SUBSCRIBE | SHARE #DailyRecord #hurricane #hurricanemilton