Photos: 3 million lose power as Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida

After traversing Florida, Hurricane Milton is ploughing into the Atlantic Ocean.

While avoiding a direct hit to Tampa, Milton contributed to at least five deaths and exacerbated the suffering brought on by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.

The storm weakened in the final hours, making landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (113km) south of Tampa.

More than three million customers lost power as a result of the storm, which also whipped up a barrage of tornadoes.

Although it caused a lot of damage and may continue to rise for days, Florida’s governor Ron DeSantis said it wasn’t “the worst-case scenario” despite the severity of the situation.

The US southeast’s powerful storms, according to Jennifer Francis, senior scientist at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, are a direct result of man-made climate change.

“By putting so many greenhouse gases, carbon-containing gases, into the atmosphere that trap more heat by the surface, most of that heat goes into the ocean”, said Francis.

Source: Aljazeera