VENICE, Fla. – Milton is the third hurricane to hit Florida this year, and it dumped record rain on the state.
First responders are now racing to rescue so many people trapped by intense flooding.
Drone footage of Venice, just south of Sarasota, shows docks destroyed, roofs ripped apart and debris scattered everywhere.
Meanwhile, rescue efforts continue across the state. In Pinellas County, crews trudged through chest-high water to save people who were stranded by severe flooding.
Nearly 10,000 guardsmen and first responders have been mobilized to get people to safety across the state.
Deputies are taking truck loads and boat loads of people and families to higher ground.
Cameras were rolling as deputies on patrol in Hillsborough County spotted a young boy up to his neck in flood water. Authorities said he’d been clinging to a piece of broken fence before he was plucked out of the water and onto their rescue boat.
A caravan of utility workers splashed into Daytona Beach and other hard hit areas, charged with getting the power back on to more than 3,000,000 customers.
On Thursday, Florida Department of Transportation cameras caught traffic at a crawl on Alligator Alley as folks headed west, back to home to see Milton’s aftermath for themselves.