Many Florida residents were returning to their homes Thursday after Hurricane Milton pummelled the state, the second major hurricane in two weeks. Millions of people in several counties had been ordered to evacuate earlier this week as Milton approached.

Hurricane Milton has yet to make landfall in Florida, but photos show communities already getting a taste of the disaster that is to come.

Hours after an outbreak of tornadoes spawned by its outer bands, Milton made landfall at 8:30 p.m. in Siesta Key, south of Sarasota, as a Category 3 hurricane. By midmorning Thurs

After rapidly intensifying to a rare Category 5 hurricane followed by a gradual weakening to a Category 3 in the Gulf of Mexico, the eye of Milton made landfall at about 8:30 p.m.

Nearly two million Floridians are without power after Hurricane Milton hit the Sunshine State late Wednesday less than two weeks since Hurricane Helene's devastation. Over 1.901 million outages have been reported in Florida as of 11 p.

The state is now conducting damage assessments after the hurricane made landfall late Wednesday, but early indications are that the damage could have been worse.