Live Updates: Florida Tallies Death and Damage From Hurricane Milton…read more

Rescuers pulled scores of people from flooded or damaged buildings and vehicles after Hurricane Milton tore across Florida overnight, ripping the roof off Tropicana Field, slamming a tower crane into a building in St. Petersburg and knocking out power to about a third of the state.

On the opposite coast from landfall, tornadoes killed at least four people, and the authorities expected the death toll to rise.

Officials and residents were just beginning to tally the damage early on Thursday.

The heavily populated Tampa Bay area appeared to have escaped devastating storm surge — “This was not the worst-case scenario,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said — but barrier islands along the Gulf Coast reported heavy flooding.

In Sarasota, Milton uprooted trees, stripped the sides off buildings and tossed yachts onto the waterfront.

Here’s what we’re covering:

Back out to sea: Milton, which came ashore Wednesday evening near Sarasota as a Category 3 hurricane, crossed the Florida peninsula without losing hurricane strength.

Its center had moved into the Atlantic Ocean north of the Bahamas by Thursday morning. Rain and wind were still lashing cities including Daytona Beach and Orlando. Track the storm.

Widespread impact: More than 3.3 million customers were without power in Florida on Thursday morning.

In some Gulf Coast counties, the storm knocked out electricity to more than 80 percent of customers.

Most counties across Florida were under a state of emergency. Read about the statewide threats.