Scenes of chaos and desperation ensued as Florida attempted to clear the destruction left behind by Hurricane Milton which downed trees and power lines for most neighborhoods.
American media reports say that at least 16 people have died due to the storm but the death toll is expected to rise as the state of Florida assesses the damage caused by the storm.
While Milton did not trigger the catastrophic surge of seawater that was feared in Florida, one of many states hit by Hurricane Helene about two weeks ago, the clean-up operation could take many weeks or months for some people.
Parts of Sarasota, Fort Myers, Venice and other Gulf coast cities were inundated by up to 3 meters of storm surge while tornadoes wrecked buildings, including a sheriff’s department facility, the skies turned purple and winds as high as 120mph (193km/h) turned cars, trees and debris into projectiles.
Reports say that Milton is the fifth-most-intense Atlantic hurricane on record and could cost insurers up to $100 billion.
