Florida Escapes Milton's 'Worst-Case Scenario'

The first assessments of the damage wrought by Hurricane Milton suggest things are bad, but not as bad as they could have been:

• FEMA: "What we know for sure is we avoided that worst-case scenario that we were planning for," FEMA chief Deanne Criswell tells CNN. "But the fact that they prepared for the worst really made sure that they were able to respond to the impacts that they have experienced, and the biggest ones right now are the tornadoes that have been reported across the state." More than 3 million were without power as of Thursday morning.
• Governor: "The storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario," Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday morning, per the New York Times. "The storm did weaken before landfall, and the storm surge, as initially reported, has not been as significant overall as what was observed for Hurricane Helene."

• 4 deaths: Four deaths have been reported in St. Lucie County, where tornadoes were reported in a retirement mobile-home community, per NBC News. In Tampa, Mayor Jane Castor said the city hasn't yet seen "extensive injuries or any deaths." Rescuers were still out assessing hard-hit neighborhoods.
• Storm surge: Several feet of storm surge on the western coast had water pouring into Charlotte Harbor, Venice, Punta Gorda, and Fort Myers, reports the Tampa Bay Times. The extent of damage is unclear. Inland, Pinellas and Hillsborough counties received about 17 inches of rain. In addition to uprooted trees, downed wires, and washed-out roads, part of the roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg was ripped off. "More storm surge flooding is expected this afternoon and evening with high tide in northeast Florida," per Weather.com.

(More Hurricane Milton stories.)