As Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida on Wednesday night, its damage has already been felt by one major sports team in the state.
Tropicana Field, the home of MLB’s Tampa Bay Rays and a shelter for first responders ahead of the hurricane hitting land, saw its roof shredded by the destructive winds from Hurricane Milton.
Video has gone viral on social media, showing part of the dome’s roof completely open and flapping in the strong hurricane winds.
Thankfully, fire and rescue is reporting no injuries as lineman and first responders were staging there for the storm recovery, per WFTS meteorologist Jason Adams.
OMG. We all had a collected gasp when we saw this from our reporter. The fabric on the roof of Tropicana Field is shredded. #StPete #Milton pic.twitter.com/36UKLO9cK6
— Jason Adams (@JasonAdamsWFTS) October 10, 2024
The Rays announced prior to the hurricane making landfall that it worked with state and local emergency management partners to aid efforts in debris removal, using Tropicana Field’s space for the lineman and first responders gearing up for storm recovery.
However, the Rays made sure to mention that it would not be used as a shelter, encouraging those in the St. Petersburg area to make sure to follow storm guidelines.
One of my security agents inside @tropicanafield pic.twitter.com/eFyHOvPZQm
— Ryan Stryker (@Stryker175) October 10, 2024
Multiple casualties as ferocious ‘once in a century’ storm rips through Florida causing catastrophic floods, plunging millions into darkness, spawning dozens of tornadoes and carving deadly path to Orlando
Monster storm Hurricane Milton is currently ripping a path of destruction across Florida, tearing through the roof of Tropicana Field stadium and leaving several people dead in its wake as it heads for Orlando.
The first casualties were reported even before Milton made landfall as a Category 3 storm around 1:30am UK time, bringing ‘catastrophic’ flooding, 120mph winds and several twisters – some of which proved lethal.
Milton’s eye slammed into Siesta Key near Sarasota, about 70 miles (112 kilometres) south of Tampa, battering houses, overturning vehicles and sucking debris into the air.
But the Sheriff of St. Lucie County revealed that ‘multiple fatalities’ were caused when the area was ravaged by a tornado heralding Milton’s arrival.
Sheriff Keith Pearson did not say exactly how many were killed, but they died when the twisters hit the Spanish Lakes Country Club in Fort Pierce, where many had been sheltering.
After making landfall, Milton began rumbling east, ripping up everything in its path before ripping apart the roof of Tropicana Field, the home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg.
Shocking images showed gaping holes in the fabric that serves as the domed building’s roof, suggesting the stadium may well have been ravaged.
Meanwhile, a tower block housing the offices of the Tampa Bay Times suffered massive damage when a crane was toppled and smashed into its facade, ripping through several stories and sending debris tumbling into the streets below.
At least 117 tornado warnings were issued in communities across the state overnight and into this morning, with dozens reported to have materialised and wrought havoc.
More than 3 million homes and businesses were without power Thursday morning in Florida, while about 125 homes were destroyed beyond repair – though that number is expected to increase.
