Photos: Hurricane Milton hits Florida as Category 3 storm

Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida's west coast near Tampa with tree-snapping winds, pushing a wall of water onshore and putting lives at risk in the densely populated region.

Milton came ashore near Siesta Key with winds of 120 miles per hour, according to an advisory from the US National Hurricane Center, making it a Category 3 storm on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale. It was the second hurricane to hit Florida in two weeks.

Life threatening storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding continue as Milton moves inland, the agency said. More than one million customers are without power in Florida, according to data from PowerOutage.us.

Milton came ashore south of where Hurricane Helene, which killed at least 230 people, struck Florida's west coast recently. The US mainland has been hit by five hurricanes so far this year, including Beryl, which battered Houston in July and knocked out power to millions of homes and businesses.

Damages and losses are likely to range from $60 billion to $75 billion, a "major catastrophe" for the region, said Chuck Watson, a disaster modeler for Enki Research.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a Wednesday briefing that the state has more than 50,000 linemen on standby, ready to start power restoration as soon as it's safe. President Joe Biden said the federal government stood ready to deploy military personnel to aid recovery efforts.

A car is seen parked as it rains heavily in Fort Myers, Florida, on October 9, 2024 as Hurricane Milton approaches.

This satellite images courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Regional and Mesoscale Meteorology Branch (RAMMB) taken on October 9, 2024, shows the formation of Hurricane Milton over the Gulf of Mexico.