'Miracle' baby born after perilous journey; man saved clinging to cool box - as deaths rise

Flights resuming at some Florida airports - but Sarasota remains closed

Tampa International Airport is due to reopen at 8am local time today following a three-day flight suspension. 

Airport officials said they were planning to resume commercial and cargo operations after "extreme wind gusts and heavy rainfall" from Hurricane Milton "impacted several areas of the airport campus".

Announcing the planned reopening in a statement on Thursday, airport officials said the storm had caused damage to part of its campus which were in need of repairs. 

They included damage to six boarding bridges and debris across the campus. The airport's fuel depot also lost power and is temporarily running on generator power. 

Staffing levels are also being assessed after "one of the biggest evacuation events in recent Tampa history", the statement added.

Orlando International Airport has already resumed "limited domestic arrivals" as of yesterday evening, its website says. 

Departures and international operations are resuming today.

Meanwhile, Sarasota International Airport will remain closed today.

In a statement on social media, airport officials said they are "currently assessing conditions and beginning clean up". 

The airport has been closed since 4pm local time on Tuesday - before the storm made landfall.

Airport officials are asking passengers to contact their airline directly for updates on the status of their flights.

Hurricane Milton could cost insurers $60bn

Hurricane Milton is likely to cost the insurance industry between $30-60bn, analysts say. 

The estimate from ratings agency Morningstar DBRS is considerably less than predicted before the storm made landfall late on Wednesday local time. 

Morningstar DBRS had estimated insured losses could reach $100bn, which would have put Milton on a par with Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Katrina caused the largest insured loss from a hurricane.

The second largest loss came from Hurricane Ian, which hit Florida in 2022 and led to losses of around $60bn. 

Hurricane Milton was a deadly, destructive storm - but the catastrophic water surge that had been feared didn't materialise.

Milton added 'fuel on the fire' after devastation of Hurricane Helene

Hurricane Milton added more "fuel on the fire", with Florida reeling from the impact of Hurricane Helene last month, the chief executive of a disaster recovery organisation in Tampa told Sky News.

"Things are very bad," Jose Garcia said.

"It wasn't until now, today, as we were in the field that we realised how much damage has been done, especially for those that were impacted already by Hurricane Helene. 

"So it was just basically more fuel on the fire."

Mr Garcia spoke to Sky News from inside his car, saying the power to his own home had been knocked out. 

Speaking in the early hours of the morning local time, he said he had only just returned home after a day in the field. 

"I don't think we realised how bad it was going to be once all this water came through to Tampa," he said, adding that he hoped there would be no more rain over the weekend to allow his team to assist people as much as possible. 

Mr Garcia estimated that it would take two to three years to rebuild after the combined devastation of the two storms. 

Though he said it was older homes which were hit harder, he cautioned that as "we get more, stronger homes, we are also getting stronger storms, one behind the other which are constantly producing the risk of ... catastrophe and disasters".

Hurricane Milton arrived just two weeks after the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene.

'Miracle' baby born after perilous journey and front-row seat to hurricane

Parents whose baby boy was born as Hurricane Milton struck say their son is a "miracle".

Kenzie Lewellen and the baby's father Dewey Bennett endured a perilous journey to the hospital and a front-row seat to the unfolding devastation, our US partner network NBC News reports.

It was a nightmare scenario for Mr Bennett, whose own father died when Hurricane Irma slammed into Florida in 2017.

"My dad had a massive heart attack because the ambulance could not come out to us during the storm," he said. 

Ms Lewellen's labour began in her home in Port Charlotte, Florida, early on Wednesday  - hours before Hurricane Milton hit. 

However, the couple's home had already begun taking in water. 

"My mind was just running a million miles an hour, like, what am I going to do?" said Ms Lewellen, 22. "I was very nervous."

After several hours, the couple began the perilous journey to Sarasota Memorial Hospital in Venice.

"My mum was driving us, and it was extremely windy, so we were trying to be as cautious as possible," Ms Lewellen said. 

"There were not really many people on the roads, because it was so windy outside and it was raining quite a bit."

After arriving at the hospital, she then went through labour in a room with a window view of the destruction as the storm pounded Sarasota.

"I was telling him [Mr Bennett], I'm like, 'Oh, that tree looks like it's going to fly out of the ground!' when I was labouring, because we were just watching the storm and the wind and the rain go crazy. It was definitely intense out there," she said.

"And it actually did uproot," Mr Bennett, 24, added.

Dewey Lester Bennett IV was safely delivered by C-section at 11.45pm local time. 

"He is a miracle baby," Ms Lewellen said.

In a statement, CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, David Verinder, said: "We couldn’t be prouder of our team. They left their homes and many left their families to be here for our patients and community."

Along with baby Dewey, six other babies were born at the two Sarasota Memorial hospitals during Milton, Mr Verinder said.

Millions still without power across Florida

More than 2.5 million customers are still without electricity, according to tracking service PowerOutage.us, after Hurricane Milton knocked out power across much of Florida.

The state is tackling the aftermath of the storm, which has killed at least 14 people.

There is widespread flooding, with authorities warning water levels could rise further over the coming days (see post at 08.24am).

Hurricane Milton destroyed homes, toppled trees, threw debris across roadways, downed power lines, and sent a construction crane crashing into a building. 

Analysts say the storm could cost insurers alone up to $100 billion.

Despite the destruction, there is relief that Milton was not worse after the catastrophic water surge that had been feared did not materialise.

Man clinging to cool box rescued

We reported overnight that a man who was left clinging to a cool box floating 30 miles offshore has been rescued by the US Coast Guard (see post at 01.55am).

We now have this video of the rescue in action. 

The man had become stranded after his boat ran into trouble in the Gulf of Mexico.

"This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner," said Lieutenant Commander Dana Grady, of the US Coast Guard.

"To understand the severity of the hurricane conditions, we estimate he experienced approximately 75-90mph winds, 20-25ft seas, for an extended period of time to include overnight."

The man was taken to Tampa General Hospital for medical care.

Drones capture scale of flooding as authorities warn waters could rise

This drone view reveals the scale of the flooding in Siesta Key, Florida, where homes have been engulfed by water. 

Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, about 70 miles (112km) south of Tampa, late on Wednesday local time. 

Residents are racing home to assess the scale of the damage - and discover whether their houses have been destroyed or spared.

Between Siesta Key and Fort Myers Beach, peak water levels reached 5 to 10ft above ground level, according to a preliminary analysis posted by the National Hurricane Centre. 

The authorities have warned water levels may rise for several days.

Will there be more Atlantic hurricanes in 2024? Why Milton may not be the last

The Atlantic hurricane season got off to a slow start this year, but there have now been 13 named storms – and there could be even more to come.

Back in May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) warned that this year's season - running from 1 June to 30 November - had an 85% chance of being more active than usual.

An average year will see a total of 14 named storms, of which seven will be regular hurricanes and three will be major ones.

After a slow start - the slowest in 10 years - things have picked up recently. Of the 13 named storms, nine became hurricanes, with four reaching major hurricane status (rated category 3 and above on the Saffir-Simpson scale).

Two have reached category 5, the highest possible; Beryl - the most powerful storm to ever make landfall so early in the season in early June - and Milton, which hit Florida this week.

August was unusually quiet, likely due to thunderstorm activity over Africa being further north than usual, but things picked up through September and early October.

We are past the peak of the season but there are more than six weeks left - so there is still time for more hurricanes to form.

And people in Florida know all too well the chance of hurricanes arriving later in the year.

In 2005, Hurricane Wilma hit towards the end of October, causing 30 deaths and around $19bn (£14.5bn) worth of damage.

With sea surface temperatures still above average, there's a real chance of more hurricanes this season.

But that doesn't mean any that do form will have an impact on land or Florida itself, in fact, Hurricane Leslie is currently in the central Atlantic not affecting any land masses.

And although major hurricanes can occur in November, they are rare. All we can do is wait and see.

For more on the science behind Hurricane Milton, take a look at the video below.

Obama accuses Trump of 'intentionally trying to deceive people' over hurricane response efforts

Barack Obama has accused Donald Trump of "intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments" with his claims about the government's hurricane response efforts. 

In an impassioned speech at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania, Mr Obama accused Mr Trump of lying to "score political points". 

In recent days, the White House and US President Joe Biden have decried Mr Trump for making false claims about the disaster response, including that federal funding is being diverted for use on people in the country illegally and that such assistance is capped at $750.

"We are going to have leaders who try to help and then you have a guy who will just lie about it to score political points. And that has consequences," Mr Obama said, warning that some people may "discouraged" from getting the help they need.

"The idea of intentionally trying to deceive people in their most desperate and vulnerable moments," Mr Obama added. 

"And my question is, when did that become ok?

"Why would we go along with that?"

Making a passionate case against Mr Trump, Mr Obama also appealed directly to men to reject the former president's bravado and back Kamala Harris,the vice president, in next month's election.

-SKY NEWS