Death toll from tornadoes and Hurricane Milton in Florida rises to 16

The death toll from Milton in Florida has risen to at least 16, several of them due to tornadoes that occurred before the hurricane made landfall, which has now dissipated in the Atlantic.

According to CNN’s calculations, the figure adds to at least a thousand rescues carried out by rescue teams up to Thursday night.

However, state Governor Ron DeSantis also said yesterday that the death toll could rise as rescue operations continue.

At least six deaths have been confirmed so far in St. Lucie County on Florida’s east coast, where “fast-spinning tornadoes” touched down before Milton made landfall.

Several of the victims died after tornadoes spawned by Milton swept through the area Wednesday afternoon, touching down in the Spanish Lakes Country Village senior living community north of Fort Pierce, authorities said.

Volusia County Sheriff Michael J. Chitwood confirmed the deaths of three more people in that eastern region of the state.

The hurricane made landfall Wednesday night on Siesta Key , near the city of Sarasota , with maximum sustained winds of 205 kilometers per hour, making it a Category 3 storm.

Milton is the second hurricane to hit Florida in nearly two weeks, after being hit on September 26 by the powerful Hurricane Helene, which entered the northwest of the state as a Category 4 storm and left a trail of devastation and death across six states in the southeastern United States.