Latest Hurricane Milton: Deaths reported, emergency services suspended and roof ripped off stadium as Milton collapses in Florida | US News

US correspondent James Matthews reporting from Tampa, Florida.

He said that because of the timing of the hurricane's arrival, it was unclear exactly how hard the state was hit.

“Things will become clear when it gets light,” he said.

“The thing about Hurricane Milton is that it visited in the hours of darkness. And while a hurricane is happening, the search and recovery teams and the people who are making these assessments are doing them correctly when they can actually see the damage.”

“I have to say it felt like an enormously strong storm, as predicted. You could feel the power of the wind and the rain. There was a storm surge at coastal points in Central Florida.”

“So it is clear that people’s safety would have been significantly at risk in these circumstances had they still been on site.

“We won't really know until daybreak, around 7.30am (12.30pm UK time).

“So I guess give me six hours until the authorities can get there and assess the damage, just to quantify the cost.

“Remember, we are in a place where Hurricane Helene struck less than two weeks ago.

“As a result, there were 230 deaths. Once again, Florida will charge.”