Hurricane Milton and tornados it spurred killed at least five people and knocked out power to 4 million homes and businesses in Florida after making landfall Oct. 9 near Siesta Key in Sarasota County. With assessments and rescues still underway, state officials say the damage was not as bad as it could have been.

The five people were killed by tornados in St. Lucie County, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told reporters. National Weather Service survey teams were working to confirm whether as many as 25 tornados touched down, and officials estimated they destroyed numerous homes across central Florida.

The storm weakened from a Category 5 hurricane to a Category 3 by the time it made landfall, and storm surge peaked at 8-10 ft in some areas, which was less than seen during Hurricane Helene two weeks earlier. But heavy rainfall caused more inland flooding.

“The storm was significant, but thankfully this was not the worst case scenario,” DeSantis said.

Crews worked around the clock ahead of Milton to remove 3,000 truckloads of debris from Helene as part of preparations. More than 50,000 line workers were in the state restoring power, and the Florida Dept. of Transportation had more than 300 crews in the field and 150 bridge inspectors dispatched. DeSantis said more than 620 bridges in the state had been inspected by the afternoon of Oct. 10.

Tampa International Airport said in a statement that its fuel depot lost power, six boarding bridges were damaged and crews were still clearing debris, but it planned to reopen the morning of Oct. 11. 

Some of the most high-profile damage occurred in St. Petersburg, where a tower crane partially collapsed and the roof of Tropicana Field baseball stadium was damaged. 

Cable-supported Dome

The 1.1-million-sq-ft stadium, home to the Major League Tampa Bay Rays team, was completed by Huber, Hunt and Nichols Inc. in 1990 at a cost of $138 million. Designed by HOK Sports Facilities Group and structural engineer Geiger/KKBNA PC, it was built using more than 7,000 precast concrete components, including a 688-ft-dia concrete compression ring supported by 24 columns, some  project engineers wrote in PCI Journal in 1990. The columns vary in height, slanting its cable-supported domed roof to a height of 225 ft at second base and 85 ft at the center field wall. 

The dome, which was the first cable-supported dome in the U.S. and remains the largest in the world, includes a top steel tension ring and four steel wire hoops parallel to the compression ring. Twenty-four radial ridge cables carry loads from the center ring to the perimeter compression ring. 

Struts connect the dome structure to the fabric roof material, which consists of Teflon-coated fiberglass. The roof was built to withstand 115-mph winds, according to the Rays organization. City officials said the highest gust recorded at nearby Albert Whitted Airport during the storm was 101 mph.

Photos and videos show the fabric torn off most of the dome, but the full extent of the damage was not immediately clear. The Rays said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter, that it would assess the condition of the stadium. 

“We are fortunate and grateful that no one was hurt by the damage to our ballpark last night,” they wrote.

The Rays had already been planning to replace the stadium with a new $1.3-billion ballpark. The general contractor, Mortenson, is set to complete the new facility for the 2028 baseball season.

Tower Crane Hits Nearby Building

A tower crane being used on the 400 Central residential project in downtown St. Petersburg partially collapsed overnight, firefighters said. Photos showed parts of the crane’s snapped boom hit and damage the Tampa Bay Times office building across the street. 

The Times reported no one was working inside its office at the time, and city officials said no injuries were reported. 

Construction on 400 Central, which is planned to stand 515 ft tall and 46 stories when complete, began in September 2022. General contractor Suffolk Construction Co. Inc. was scheduled to complete it next year for owner Red Apple Real Estate. 

Red Apple founder and principal John Catsimatidis said in a statement that 400 Central remained in good condition, and the company was working with the city to determine next steps for the fallen debris. 

The collapsed crane was one of three at the site that were rated to withstand 110 mph winds, St. Petersburg building official Don Tyre told the Times.

"We are grateful that no one was injured in the area, and that the only damage was to bricks and not to people," Catsimatidis said.

He added that the company expects to resume work "as soon as possible."