Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 storm, causing widespread destruction and immobilizing critical infrastructure. The extent of the damage is not yet known.

Maximum sustained winds are approaching 90 mph, meaning Hurricane Milton is now considered a Category 1 storm.

Follow us for updates throughout the day.

6 a.m. EDT: Rapid rescues, hospital transports

It is still too early to know how much damage the storm has caused.

According to poweroutage.us, which tracks outages across the country, more than three million homes and businesses are without electricity.

The storm made landfall in Siesta Key near Sarasota, about an hour south of Tampa.

Joe Lindquist, 32, of St. Petersburg, walks on rocks near a fallen crane along 1st Avenue South near the Tampa Bay Times office in St. Petersburg, Florida, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024, as strong winds from Hurricane Milton rip through the region raged. area. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)

The hurricane spawned a series of tornadoes in Central and South Florida on Wednesday afternoon, some of which caused serious damage to homes and sent residents to the hospital, Palm Beach County first responders said.

“Firefighters located and rescued multiple people from damaged structures and vehicles,” reads a social media post from Palm Beach County Fire Rescue. “Some were trapped under rubble or trapped in overturned vehicles tossed by high winds.”

Keith Pearson, sheriff of St. Lucie County on the east coast, told WPBF News, “We lost some people.”

He did not say how many people were killed.

5:15 AM EDT: The hurricane is now leaving the state

The center of the storm is now leaving the state near Cape Canaveral, a small coastal city east of Orlando.

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NOAA), the potential remains for a life-threatening storm surge from East Florida into South Georgia.

Hurricane force winds are expected to rip through East Central and Northeast Florida as Milton moves east. Residents have been asked to keep their distance from windows. Continued heavy rainfall means flash flooding is still possible.

(Source: NOAA)