The passage of theHurricane Milton he left behind one trail of devastation and death in Floridacausing widespread blackouts and the formation of as many as 19 tornadoes. Over 2.8 million people remained without electricity, while the hurricane, now downgraded to category 1, continues to cause disruption and damage.
The winds, which have reached speeds exceeding 140 km/hdestroyed at least 125 homes and caused several victims with the numbers still uncertain. In St. Lucie County, a tornado devastated a retirement community, killing multiple people, local sheriff Keith Pearson confirmed. However, the death toll could rise as rescue operations progress.
Damage is also significant in St. Petersburg, where winds tore off the roof of Tropicana Field and a tower crane collapsed on a building. In Tampa the streets were flooded suddenly and transformer explosions lit up the sky during the night, worsening an already critical situation. The extent of the destruction will become clearer as the sun rises, but local authorities are already reporting it entire areas submerged and hundreds of homes damaged or destroyed.
A devastating force hit Florida. Hurricane #Milton and its power!#miltonhurricane #Florida #Tampa #Huracan #HurricanMilton pic.twitter.com/Vb83zxCWLY
— Short Reports (@ShortReportOnX) October 10, 2024
It was a race against time to get the animals to safety
While many people were forced to evacuate, some chose to stay to protect their animals. Sara Weldon and her partner Rick, for example, have decided to stay on their farm in Claremont to take care of themselves care of their donkey Cash and other animalsdespite the risks.
With over 300,000 followers on social media, Sara shared their difficult decision and the precautions taken to keep animals safeincluding some brought inside the house. “We cannot abandon them,” Sara said in a video, explaining that they had not found an alternative solution to evacuate the animals.
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Local zoos and aquariums are too mobilize to protect animals. The Tampa Zoo has activated an emergency plan, relocating larger animals to durable night shelters and moving smaller animals to secure buildings. In a Florida Aquariumi African penguins have been displaced on the upper floors to prevent the tidal wave from endangering them.
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An apocalyptic scenario so much so that Hurricane Milton has been described as the “storm of the century”, one of the most powerful of the last 100 years. Situations in which it is often the animals who lose the most, left unattended in the rush to leave their homes or agricultural activities. Fortunately, however, there are those who have taken care of them this time, in the hope that the damage and casualty count – human and animal – will be less merciless than expected.
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