Washington: A weakened but still dangerous Hurricane Milton was exiting Florida early Thursday, after flooding streets and homes, toppling trees and power lines, and knocking power out to millions. Milton slammed into the west coast of Florida on Wednesday evening as a Category 3 hurricane packing winds of up to 193 kilometres per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said, before losing strength as it barrelled across the midsection of the south-eastern US state. By the time sunrise approached on Thursday, Milton had been downgraded to a Category 1 hurricane as it pushed into the Atlantic Ocean. Its maximum sustained winds were 150 kilometres per hour. The monster storm system continued to bring heavy rain, destructive winds and flash flooding. US media showed images of night-time streets turning into rivers in the cities of Tampa, St. Petersburg and Sarasota. Rainfall amounts of 20 to 35 centimetres are expected across central to northern portions of the Florida peninsula on Thursday. (dpa)
