At least 16 people have died after Hurricane Milton passed through Florida, though the total number of deaths could rise as rescue workers make their way through floodwaters and debris
More than two million homes and businesses are without power and thousands of people have been rescued from flooded areas
An emergency management official in Florida tells residents to keep clear of teams operating in the area, saying "we don't need you out there sightseeing"
US President Joe Biden will travel to Florida on Sunday to visit areas impacted by Hurricane Milton, the White House says
Some Florida residents forced to abandon their homes have returned to find them destroyed or badly flooded
BBC Verify has analysed false images and video circulating on social media, claiming to show Hurricane Milton
Watch: Drone footage shows devastation in Florida
Sarasota Bradenton International Airport says it will remain closed today due to Hurricane Milton.
In a post on Facebook, external yesterday, the airport said it was "currently assessing conditions and beginning clean-up post Hurricane Milton".
Marianna Spring
Disinformation and social media correspondent
A deluge of misinformation online about back-to-back hurricanes in the US has been fuelled by a social media universe that rewards engagement over truth.
The scale and speed of false rumours about Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Milton has been unlike many of the frenzies I’ve investigated online before.
Viral posts have ranged from seemingly innocuous questions about the legitimacy of forecasts and rescue efforts, to false claims - repeated by Donald Trump - that hurricane relief funds are being spent on migrants who entered the US illegally.
Others spread false images of the wreckage - faked pictures of children fleeing devastation that were generated by artificial intelligence (AI), old clips showing different storms or computer-generated (CGI) videos.
And then there were those who shared false and evidence-free conspiracy theories about the government manipulating - or “geo-engineering”- the weather.
I messaged dozens of accounts which shared false and misleading posts on X related to both hurricanes - and you can read more about this here.
It's the middle of the night in Florida, but photos taken yesterday show the widespread flooding, wind damage and debris left in Hurricane Milton's wake.
Rescue teams will be continuing their search on Friday, and the clean-up operation could take weeks or months.
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Reuters
Image source, ReutersMilton made landfall as a category three hurricane in Siesta Key, Florida - a coastal community about 50 miles (80km) south of Tampa - at about 20:30 EST on Wednesday (03:30 BST on Thursday), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
After tearing across Florida's peninsula, Milton has weakened into a post-tropical cyclone and its centre has moved away from the state into the Atlantic Ocean.
Simon King
BBC weather presenter and meteorologist
After moving east out of Florida, Hurricane Milton weakened rapidly in the cooler waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
By losing all its tropical cyclone characteristics, it is now called "post-tropical Milton" and is essentially a small depression well east of Florida in the Atlantic.
For Florida, the weather on Friday will remain a little windy, especially down the eastern coast but winds will ease further through the day.
Staying dry for most of the state over the next few days but there is a chance of showers across eastern and southern Florida on Friday which could be a heavy in places with the odd thunderstorm too.
Drone footage captured in St Lucie County, Palm Beach Gardens, St Petersburg, and Siesta Key shows damage to homes and structures after Hurricane Milton and multiple tornadoes tore across the state:
Image source, gettThe search and rescue and recovery operations are ongoing after Hurricane Milton passed over Florida. Here's where things stand today:
Welcome back to our live coverage of the aftermath of Hurricane Milton, which tore through Florida yesterday.
Milton's devastating path is still being assessed by workers across the state, who caution the death toll is likely to continue rising in the coming days. At least 16 people have died.
The storm brought heavy rains of up to 18in (45cm) in some areas.
Neighbourhoods and roads remain flooded and more than two million businesses and homes remain without power- but Florida Gov Ron DeSantis said the state did not experience "the worst-case scenario".
Our teams here in London and on the ground in Florida will be bringing you live updates on the aftermath of the hurricane throughout the day, so stay with us.
We're pausing our live coverage of Hurricane Milton for now - but we'll be back with any significant updates. About three million homes and businesses are still left without power, with more flooding expected in coming days, according to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. At least 16 people have died, though the total number of deaths could rise as rescue efforts continue.
According to the US National Hurricane Center in Miami, the maximum storm surge observed by Milton was between 5-10ft (1.5-3 meters).
"Preliminary post-landfall analysis of storm surge from Hurricane Milton indicates peak water levels reached 5 to 10 feet above ground level between Siesta Key, FL and Ft Myers Beach, FL, including Charlotte Harbor," the NHC said.
A more thorough assessment will take weeks to complete.
Ahead of the hurricane's arrival, officials had warned that storm surge levels could reach as high as 15ft.
Meanwhile, all tropical and storm surge warnings have been discontinued, the NHC said, external.
A small dog named Benji was rescued from the wreckage of a retirement community in Fort Pierce on Thursday after going missing during Hurricane Milton.
Watch the moment a CBS Miami reporter comforts the little pooch as she says his owners, who lived in a now-flattened mobile home, were killed in the storm.
Moment TV reporter cares for dog rescued from tornado debris
Naomi Choy Smith
Reporting from South Florida
We find Crystal Coleman seated outside her home just north of St Lucie, the area hardest hit by tornadoes spawned by Hurricane Milton.
She and her daughter have no safe place to sleep tonight, after a tornado ripped through this low-income neighbourhood on Wednesday.
There were multiple fatalities, and while Crystal is glad to be alive, she says she's at a loss about what to do next.
"All of a sudden the door to my attic flew off, all the objects in my house started flying around," Crystal says.
"It was devastating, we were very scared. It felt like the tornado was inside of our house."
Parts of the roof are torn off, and the windows blown out. Further up the street, workers from World Central Kitchen have been handing out hundreds of hot meals.
They say residents have been too shell-shocked to say anything but "thank you".
The power is out and there's no running water. People are grateful for a hot meal, a smile, and a helping hand. Devastation litters the main road.
A tractor trailer on its side. The canopy ripped off a gas station.
Trees uprooted. Some residents say they've contacted FEMA for help, but for now, they're most worried about shelter and food for their families tonight.
Image source, Getty ImagesA view from Milton from aboard the International Space Station
Nasa is inspecting for any damages to its Kennedy Space Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, according to a new statement from the US space agency.
"Once the winds subsided to a safe level, the center’s Ride Out Team and engineering teams began initial checkouts to ensure bridges are safe and useable," Nasa said, adding that they will later "thoroughly check the entire center".
The arrival of Milton had delayed Thursday's planned launch of Europa Clipper, a science spacecraft destined for Jupiter's icy moon Europa.
According to Nasa, the spacecraft will attempt to answer whether the ice-encased moon contains a salty "ocean" of water below its frozen surface, and whether humans could potentially survive there.
Holly Honderich
in South Florida
Wednesday evening in North Fort Myers, Maria Bowman, 60, huddled in her bright pink mobile home and waited for the storm.
Her home, 600 metres from the Caloosahatchee River and at risk of storm surge, was in Evacuation Zone A - the category for the most at-risk areas.
But Maria, who moved to the US from Mexico three decades ago, had decided to stay. She did the same for Hurricane Ian, the category five storm that tore through Florida in 2017.
“The first time I survived it and this time, Milton wasn’t as strong,” she tells me, shrugging.
Throughout the night, her mobile home was rattled by the whipping winds. Her power cut out around 22:00.
“It sounded like an explosion,” she says. “Boom. No electricity.”
But even though she made it through another storm, Maria wants to leave Florida.
“It’s too many hurricanes,” she tells me. “One day you survive it, the next time no. Who knows.”
But she can’t afford to move. She thinks of one day joining her son in Washington state.
“I plan it. But I don’t know when.”
Moment US Coast Guard rescues man clinging to cooler in Gulf of Mexico
The US Coast Guard has rescued a man who was found clinging to a floating cooler 30 miles (48km) from Longboat Key, an island off the coast of the Sarasota area.
The rescue in the Gulf of Mexico took place on Thursday at 13:30 local time, according to a Coast Guard news release.
Officials have not named the man, but said he is the captain of a fishing vessel.
On Monday, the captain called the Coast Guard to report the boat was disabled. He and another crew member were rescued by helicopter and the "vessel was left adrift and salvage arrangements were made".
But then on Wednesday around noon, the owner of the ship called officials to say the captain had returned to the ship.
Rescuers radioed the captain, who reported an issue with the rudder. Officials told him to put on life jacket and hold tight to his emergency locator beacon, as he braced for the hurricane to arrive.
At that point, the waves were around 6-8ft (1.8-2.4m) and winds were around 30mp/h (48km/h), but they were expected to climb steeply overnight.
“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner," said Lt Cmdr Dana Grady, chief commander of the St Petersburg sector.
"To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90mph winds, 20-25ft seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight.
"He survived because of a life jacket, his emergency position indicating locator beacon, and a cooler."
Officials have confirmed at least 16 people have died in Hurricane Milton.
The rising death toll is likely to continue mounting in the coming days as crews in Florida get a better picture of Milton's destructive path.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement confirmed the toll to CBS News, the BBC's US news partner.
Rob Young of the BBC World Service's World Business Report has spoken with Jimmy Patronis, Florida's chief financial officer and a man who is widely seen as Governor Ron DeSantis's second in command.
Patronis tells BBC "the most amount of violent damage" is as a result of the more than 30 tornadoes that touched down in the state as Hurricane Milton was beginning to move ashore.
One of the twisters destroyed the complex that holds the St Lucie County Sheriff's Office.
"We have brought resources from all parts of the state to supplement the challenges that we face right now," he says.
Patronis tells Young that 1,600 urban search and rescue specialists are scouring through hard-hit areas, while 40,000 linemen are working to restore power, with trauma surgeons, structural engineers and rescue dogs all working together.
"We have about $17bn in reserves compared to pre-Covid. In 2020, we were about $4bn in reserves, so the state has taken a real strong approach to increasing our fiscal help," he notes.
"But we also know, because of inflation, everything costs more. So we're going to need more money and reserves."
A preliminary estimate of the total damage caused by Milton has been released by US weather forecaster AccuWeather, which estimates damage and economic loss between $160bn to $180bn.
Matt Taylor
BBC Weather
Hurricane Milton is the third event in south-east US, in just three weeks, to produce over 20in (508mm) of rain.
Hurricane Milton
Hurricane Helene
Storms 16-18 of September
In the last month other parts of the world, including the UK, Austria, Nepal and Mexico have also seen multiple months worth of rain fall in short time periods.
As climate scientists have been warning - a warming world means the atmosphere holds more moisture, which can mean greater extremes of rainfall, and extreme rainfall events happening at a greater frequency.
The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) is rapidly burning through cash as it responds to two massive hurricanes that hit the south-east in just two weeks.
After receiving about $20bn from Congress last month for disaster relief, the agency has already spent $9bn from the fund, Fema Administrator Deanne Criswell said on Wednesday.
And all of that money was spent in a little more than one week.
“I’m going to have to evaluate how quickly we’re burning the remaining dollars in the Disaster Relief Fund,” Criswell said, according to Politico.
Congress does not return from break until 12 November, but Biden has said that he might call lawmakers back to vote on additional disaster aid.
Gordon Corera
Reporting from Florida
The Country Lakes retirement community outside of Palmetto was hit hard, with roofs ripped off and roads flooded.
We found Sharon returning to her home at the intersection of Paradise Way and Tranquillity Lane. As she turns the corner, she can see it was one of the worst hit.
“I was hoping it would have been better,” she says. "I guess it is not as bad as it could be. I could have come here and the whole thing could have been ripped out."
Others hunkered down in their homes to see what Milton brought. Also on Paradise Way, Stella is cleaning up after a long night. The window by where she was sleeping suddenly smashed in the night.
"It went boom and I was like, 'What the hell was that?'", she says.
Further down and the road is flooded. Joanne had a tree come down on her house in the night. She had stayed there during the storm because she did not want to be separated from her dog Buster at a shelter.
After the hit, a neighbour put her up, one of many signs of a tight-knit community where people have pulled together to check on each other and help. Thanks to Milton, Paradise may not be lost - but it will take time to recover.