Hurricane Milton hit the west coast of Florida hard on Wednesday evening with sustained winds of nearly 200 km/h.
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• Also read: VIDEO: Journalist Anderson Cooper hit in the face by debris during Hurricane ‘Milton’
• Also read: IN PICTURES | Hurricane “Milton”: deaths and significant damage in Florida
The city of St. Petersburg, which is located on the water’s edge, was one of the first to be hit.
Images collected by CNN show how strong the winds blew in the deserted streets, throwing rain along the city’s arteries.
Trees were uprooted and many urban facilities collapsed, including a crane.
Flooding ensued in many areas of the city.
Similar scenes played out in other coastal Florida cities such as Fort Myers and Sarasota.
Journalists from American television networks who braved the storm reported “unprecedented” winds.
“It’s stronger than anything I’ve seen in my life,” said CNN correspondent in St. Petersburg, Bill Weir.
Another CNN journalist, Anderson Cooper, was struck by debris live while explaining what was happening around him.
Downgraded to category 1 on Thursday morning, “Milton” left behind several deaths, extensive damage, flooding and more than 3 million homes without electricity.
See the footage in the video above