DRAMATIC footage shows the moment Hurricane Milton tore the entire roof off a stadium used by emergency workers as a base.
Florida has been battered by “catastrophic” flooding and 120mph winds as the deadly hurricane sweeps through the state.
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The hurricane blew off the roof of Tropicana Field Credit: Rex
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Footage shows pieces of its non-retractable roof flapping in the windCredit: X/Jason Adams
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Debris scattered on the street after the collapse of the crane in St. PetersburgCredit: Reuters
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A road flooded due to storm surge caused by Hurricane Milton, in Lee County, FloridaCredit: Reuters
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Palm trees bend in the wind after Hurricane Milton made landfall in BrandonCredit: AFP
Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg bore the brunt of the storm as its roof was torn apart by the fierce winds.
Pieces of the stadium’s stationary roof were seen fluttering in the wind.
The stadium – home of the Tampa Bay Rays – was used as a shelter for emergency services.
It is understood no-one was injured at the site – despite at least 13 people being at the site when the roof came down.
Dubbed the “storm of the century,” Milton barreled into Florida on Wednesday night.
Dramatic pictures show a construction crane on the ground after it collapsed as Milton brought misery to St Petersburg.
But after days of warnings of apocalyptic-style devastation, the hurricane appears to be weaker than feared after twice making Category 5.
Milton spawned several strong tornadoes that left at least two people dead in St. Lucie County and several others were rushed to the hospital.
In addition to producing deadly tornadoes, Milton knocked out power in three million homes and businesses, while at least 125 homes were destroyed.
Devastating flash floods are wreaking havoc in the Tampa Bay area, with up to 16 inches of rainfall so far – a one-in-1,000-year rainfall for the area.
Live: Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida as locals brace for 120 mph winds
The US National Weather Service has warned that life-threatening flooding is underway or expected.
Storm surge forecasts call for 10 to 15 feet of water, along with destructive waves driven by hurricane-force winds.
Thousands fled Florida after President Joe Biden warned Milton would be “one of the most destructive hurricanes of the century.”
Milton barreled into Florida as a Category 3 storm and was downgraded to a Category 2 storm about 90 minutes after landfall.
By early Thursday, the hurricane was a Category 1 storm with maximum sustained winds of about 90 mph as it churned about 30 miles south of Orlando.
Residents were ordered to stay indoors while scores of emergency workers were forced to down tools due to the “life-threatening” situation.
On Wednesday, Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents to stay indoors as the hurricane made landfall.
He said, “It’s too dangerous to evacuate safely at this point, so you have to take shelter in place and just take cover.”
The storm was expected to cross the Florida peninsula overnight and break out into the Atlantic, still at hurricane strength, on Thursday.
Milton is forecast to maintain hurricane intensity as it crosses Florida later Thursday morning, but is likely to gradually lose tropical characteristics and slowly weaken as it moves into the Atlantic.
In the state that was already hit by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, as many as two million people were ordered to evacuate, and millions more live in the predicted path of the storm.
Much of the southern US experienced the deadly force of Hurricane Helena as it cut a swath of destruction through Florida and several other states.
Both storms are expected to cause billions of dollars in damage.
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