Hurricane Milton LIVE updates: More than 2 million without power; Roof partially ripped off stadium; Storm makes landfall with 193km/h winds [Video]

The Tampa Bay area has avoided the most disastrous forecasts of storm surge from Hurricane Milton, Governor Ron DeSantis says.

“What we can say is the storm was significant, but thankfully, this was not the worst-case scenario,” DeSantis says.

The most significant immediate effects are power outages affecting more than 3 million electric customers and flooding from massive amounts of rain.

“Isolated pockets of up to 18 inches (46 centimetres) of rainfall were observed in Pinellas and coastal Hillsborough counties,” the governor says.

St Petersburg, where 46.5 centimetres of rain fell, has experienced a one-in-1000 year rainfall event.

Flooding reached further inland than usual around Tampa, and punishing winds tore the roof covering off of Tropicana Field. The governor says Sarasota County saw up to three metres of storm surge.

As first responders assess the damage, the head of the Florida Division of Emergency Management has encouraged people in the …