Hurricane Milton is crossing Florida today, and although it has been downgraded to Category 1, it remains very dangerous, causing tornadoes and floods as it passes, destroying homes, and leaving 2.5 million households without power, just two weeks after the devastating passage of Hurricane Elin, with reports of four dead.

According to the medical examiner of St. Lucie County, four people have died due to the tornadoes, as noted in a separate announcement from local authorities. “Many homes and buildings throughout St. Lucie County, including the city of Port St. Lucie, have suffered severe damage,” the announcement concludes.

Milton reached Florida’s west coast “near Siesta Key in Sarasota County,” the American National Hurricane Center (NHC) reported in an update at 8:30 PM local time yesterday (3:30 AM Greece time today). During the night, winds were recorded at speeds of 165 kilometers per hour, warning of the risks of flooding.

The situation is terrifying, says a Florida resident.

At the same time, a Florida resident said that Hurricane Milton was “perhaps the loudest and most powerful” storm he had seen in his 25 years there.

Phil Peachey, who lives in Orlando, emphasized that the situation in the city is “truly terrifying.” “I’ve never seen trees bend so much,” he noted.

“It was as if something had fallen from the sky and flattened houses.”

“It felt like someone had dropped a weight from the sky and flattened houses,” Doug Anderson, a resident of Lakewood Park in St. Lucie County, told the news agency.

Anderson stated that he saw many people injured, while the material damage from the tornado was also extensive.

“One of the last houses I went to looked like it had been cut in half,” he said. “People were in front and crying.”

“The danger has not passed,” says the mayor of Tampa.

Meanwhile, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor urged residents to stay in their homes until city employees can go out and assess the damage and ensure conditions are safe for citizens.

She stated during a press conference this morning that the fact that Tampa did not see the anticipated storm surge “saved many, so we were really worried,” but added that the risk of flooding has not ended. “At 7 AM, when the tide comes in, the rivers will flood throughout Hillsborough County, not just in the city of Tampa,” she said.

President Joe Biden warned last night that it is expected to be “one of the most destructive hurricanes in over a century in Florida.”

Accompanied by strong winds and torrential rain, Milton has already caused “sudden” flooding as it made landfall, the NHC clarified in its update. “The storm has arrived. It is time for everyone to stay in their homes… Stay inside and do not go out on the streets,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said in an interview just before the cyclone’s arrival.

Two weeks after Hurricane Elin passed through the same area, which claimed the lives of at least 236 people in the southeastern U.S., including over 15 in Florida, Milton “will be a deadly and destructive storm,” warned Deanne Criswell, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).

For days, authorities had been urging residents of areas under evacuation orders to leave their homes, warning that it is “a matter of life or death.”

Florida, the third most populous state in the U.S., which also attracts many tourists, is accustomed to hurricanes. However, climate change, causing rising sea temperatures, makes it more likely for hurricanes to strengthen rapidly and increases the risk of more intense weather events, according to scientists.