Hurricane Milton hits Florida causing widespread damage

Parts of the state have been hit by winds of up to 120mph

Hurricane Milton has hit Florida bringing strong winds, tornadoes and flooding.

Parts of the state have been hit with winds of up to 120mph which have damaged buildings and brought down power lines.

As well as the wind, some areas have seen huge amounts of rainfall in just a short amount of time. In St Petersburg there has been a month's worth of rain in just one hour.

The storm is still moving across Florida. It has weakened but is still extremely dangerous.

Milton comes two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the same area.

How have people been affected?

The number of blackouts continues to increase as winds knock over power lines and flood waters cause further problems

Millions of people in the state left their homes to reach safety after 31 counties told residents to evacuate before the storm but some stayed.

The head of the US federal response (the national-level) Deanne Criswell has said that there are more than 70,000 people in government shelters.

According to the latest data, more than three million homes and businesses are now without power and some residents have posted videos online of their entire neighbourhood going dark.

And the high winds and tornadoes are damaging buildings and roads.

The state’s governor, Ron DeSantis, says around 125 homes have been destroyed

In St Petersburg, on the west coast of the state, the roof of a Major League Baseball stadium was torn off.

Residents there are also without drinking water after officials had to shut off the supply because of storm damage.

They've been advised to boil any water used for drinking, cooking and brushing teeth until repairs can be carried out.

What is being done to help?

Residents board up a sea shell store ahead of Hurricane Milton

The state put out a warning about the hurricane urging people to leave if they were able to.

People prepared as best they could to protect their homes and businesses.

The US government's Federal Emergency Management Agency says it has 10,000 National Guard members ready to help and 20 million meals and 40 million litres of water to give to those in need.

As well as this, donations are being made to support people affected.

Taylor Swift has given $5 million to help with the clean up once the storm has passed.