Hurricane Milton Leaves Residents in Shock, Facing Another Massive Cleanup

Friday dawned as another day without power for thousands of residents of southeast Polk after the area after Hurricane Milton raked the area with 100 mile-per-hour winds and heavy rainfall before dawn Thursday.

Shattered or uprooted trees, some punching holes in roofs, along with damage to signs, sheds, utilities and fences were visible across the area. Flooded roads and intersections delayed responses to the disaster, a common scene as hurricanes increase in both frequency and strength.

Widespread power outages left most traffic signals out of operation, raising the risk of crashes. By Friday morning some customers had been restored, but cellular service and internet connections remain absent or unstable area-wide.

Fallen power lines created hazardous conditions. A possible tornadic circulation sheared away a row of utility poles along Masterpiece Road in Lake Wales, while dunes of sand formed along South 11th Street, driven from nearby construction sites by the high winds.

Wind-blown debris blocked passage on many area roads in the immediate aftermath of the storm, but more roads were quickly reopened by city and county work crews.

Tragically, in a rare local fatality, a worker from Fort Meade was reportedly killed after being struck by a county worker’s truck after both responded to the same fallen tree blocking a portion of US 98. At least 16 were reported killed across the state.

Serious roof damage or loss has been reported at a number of locations across the area, including at the Impact Church on Burns Avenue, which reportedly lost a portion of its cover “like a can-opener,” according to a witness.

Damage to signs and trees is widespread, with numerous trees around Lake Wales either toppled from the roots or snapped off. Norby’s, a popular Lake Wales restaurant, also reportedly lost much of its roof.

Despite fears of a repeat of the 2004 blow of Hurricane Charley locally, Milton’s wrath was relatively mild despite it’s Category 3 rating at landfall. It brought a new surge of flooding to the Gulf coast still reeling from the passage of Hurricane Helene only days ago.

The worst of the storm arrived locally in the form of high winds from the north and northwest following the passage of the eye between midnight and 2 a.m. Shrieking winds awoke residents who had slept during the passage of the eye, which moved into southwestern Polk around midnight, passing near Mulberry and Bartow before passing over Lake Wales.

Mental health experts have warned that the repeated impacts of hurricanes that have upended lives and destroyed plans and property can continue long after the storms have ended. Reports of shoppers breaking down in tears in grocery stores and gas lines are described as “acute stress reaction” are not uncommon, and people are encouraged to seek support when the challenges become overwhelming.

“Everyone will experience heightened levels of stress,” said Dr. Jeff Reddout, a mental health expert. Some “may experience an overload of stress that temporarily overwhelms their coping abilities and may lead to a state of panic or shock,” Reddout told Lake Wales News.

“Remember to seek comfort from friends, family, Medical personnel, and service workers,” Reddout said.

Heavy rainfall preceding the storm flooded some intersections and low-lying areas. The Lake Wales News weather station recorded nearly six inches of rain in 24 hours, but totals of over 12 inches were also reported locally.

The long-awaited arrival of the blow came after an afternoon of tornado warnings and sightings, including one that traveled along the ground on a happily-uninhabited stretch of the Crooked Lake Prairie, a tract of protected environmental land south of Warner University.

Dozens of other tornadoes struck the state ahead of the landfall of the storm’s center in early evening near Sarasota. Some of those tornadoes caused serious injuries and deaths, including five killed near Fort Piece ahead of the storm’s landfall.

Among some of the dramatic damage caused by Milton was the destruction of the roof of St. Petersburg’s famous Tropicana Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Rays. Hundreds of emergency workers who had been staging there in preparation for storm response had been evacuated shortly before.

The storm exited the state near Cocoa Beach and is dissipating over the Atlantic.