TAMPA, Fla. — On Wednesday evening, Hurricane Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm near Siesta Key on Florida's Gulf Coast, bringing widespread power outages to the Tampa Bay area and reports of damage across the region.
Evacuation zones were put in place across the city, and now residents are looking at when they can return to their homes and survey Milton's impact.
In anticipation of people looking at when they can go back home, the City of Tampa has put out a re-entry map tool showing city grids that are cleared for re-entry and those that are still not yet considered clear for returns.
"We are currently performing a thorough assessment of damage and infrastructure following Hurricane Milton. Due to the severity of the storm, certain areas of the city more directly impacted have not yet been deemed safe and are currently restricted to public access. These restrictions are in place to protect the public and expedite the restoration process," the city said on Facebook. "The map will be continuously updated with real-time information regarding safe areas, restricted access zones, and the progress of recovery efforts."
You can see that map below or utilize the tool at this link.
More on Hurricane Milton's impact
Originally a tropical storm on Saturday, Milton rapidly intensified in the following days. By early Monday, it had reached Category 2 strength, fluctuating between Category 4 and 5 before settling back to Category 3 as it approached land.
The storm brought deadly winds exceeding 100 mph (160 kph) to much of Florida’s Gulf Coast, including densely populated areas like Tampa, St. Petersburg, Sarasota, and Fort Myers.
In St. Petersburg, powerful winds from Hurricane Milton toppled a large construction crane late Wednesday night. The crane collapsed at the 400 Central Avenue construction site.
St. Petersburg recorded over 16 inches (41 centimeters) of rain, prompting the National Weather Service to issue warnings for flash flooding. Even before making landfall, tornadoes had touched down across Florida.
The Associated Press reported four deaths in Florida as a result of Milton impacts, which was later followed by St. Petersburg reporting two deaths after the hurricane.