Click here for the latest updates.Hurricane Milton barreled into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday after plowing across Florida, where it knocked out power to more than 3 million customers and whipped up numerous tornadoes. The storm caused at least 10 deaths and compounded the misery wrought by Helene while sparing Tampa a direct hit.U.S. Department of Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas announced during the White House press briefing this afternoon that there have been 10 confirmed fatalities statewide in Florida, and the current understanding is that they were all caused by tornadoes. The system tracked to the south in the final hours and made landfall late Wednesday as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa. Damage was widespread, and water levels may continue to rise for days, but Gov. Ron DeSantis said it was not “the worst-case scenario.” What to knowHurricane Milton made landfall around 8:30 p.m. near Siesta Key, Florida, as a Category 3 storm.First Milton deaths: Ten people were killed in St. Lucie County following multiple tornadoes touching down in the area ahead of Milton.More than 3 million homes and businesses were without power in Florida Thursday morning.The hurricane was downgraded to a Category 2 storm as it moved through Florida later Wednesday night. Milton was downgraded early Thursday morning to a Category 1 hurricane. Hurricane aftermathThe deadly storm surge feared for Tampa never materialized, though the storm dumped up to 18 inches of rain in some areas, the governor said. The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8 to 10 feet – lower than in the worst place during Helene."We will better understand the extent of the damage as the day progresses," DeSantis said. "We've got more to do, but we will absolutely get through this."Video above: Comparing storm surge, tracks of Hurricanes Milton, HeleneAs dawn broke Thursday, storm-surge warnings were still posted for much of the east-central Florida coast and north into Georgia. Tropical storm warnings were in place along the coast into South Carolina. Officials in the hard-hit Florida counties of Hillsborough, Pinellas, Sarasota and Lee urged people to stay home, warning of downed power lines, trees in roads, blocked bridges and flooding."We'll let you know when it's safe to come out," Sheriff Chad Chronister of Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, said on Facebook.FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said Thursday that Milton's impact was not as destructive as feared, but she is heading out Friday to see damage from some of the tornadoes that touched down in the Florida.“We did not have the extreme impacts of the worst case scenario that we prepared for, but there’s still so many people that have been impacted by this,” she said at a press briefing in Sarasota.On Thursday, she toured flooded roads and debris, some of which was left from Hurricane Helene, she said.Just inland from Tampa, the flooding in Plant City was "absolutely staggering," according to City Manager Bill McDaniel. Emergency crews rescued 35 people overnight, said McDaniel, who estimated the city received 13.5 inches of rain."We have flooding in places and to levels that I've never seen, and I've lived in this community for my entire life," he said in a video posted online Thursday morning.Video above: Building crumbles in downtown Tampa during Hurricane MiltonMore than 100 residents were rescued from an assisted living facility in Tampa, according to a social media post on Thursday morning from Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.Sheriff Chad Chronister said in the video that the sheriff's office and Hillsborough County Fire Rescue were out with amphibious equipment and the marine unit rescuing residents. It shows deputies in nearly waist-deep water outside the facility and residents with walkers being carried away on boats. The video shows flooded streets and parking lots and rescue workers with a boat floating next to a partially submerged flight of stairs helping an apartment building resident in a life jacket wrap up her cat. Chronister can be seen offering to take a person in a home surrounded by flood waters to dry ground."This is extraordinary to see this type of flooding, especially in this type of area. The University of South Florida area is normally a dry area," Chronister said in the video. "To see this unprecedented flooding, I can only imagine how scary it was."The tiny barrier island of Matlacha, just off Fort Myers, got hit by both a tornado and a surge, with many of the colorful buildings in the fishing and tourist village sustaining serious damage. Tom Reynolds, 90, spent the morning sweeping out four feet of mud and water and collecting chunks of aluminum siding torn off by a twister that also picked up a car and threw it across the road.Elsewhere on the island, a house was blown into a street, temporarily blocking it. Some structures caught fire. Reynolds said he planned to repair the home he built three decades ago."What else am I going to do?" he said.In contrast, city workers on Anna Maria Island were grateful not to be wading through floodwaters as they picked up debris Thursday morning, two weeks after Helene battered buildings and blew in piles of sand up to 6 feet high. Those piles may have helped shield homes from further damage, said Jeremi Roberts of the State Emergency Response Team."I'm shocked it's not more," city worker Kati Sands said as she cleared the streets of siding and broken lights. "We lost so much with Helene, there wasn't much left."The storm knocked out power across a large section of Florida, with more than 3.4 million homes and businesses without electricity, according to poweroutage.us, which tracks utility reports.The fabric that serves as the roof of Tropicana Field — home of the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team in St. Petersburg — was ripped to shreds by fierce winds. Debris littered the field, but no injuries were reported. Before the storm hit, first responders were moved from a staging area there.Video above: Roof torn off Tropicana Field, home of Tampa Bay RaysSt. Petersburg residents could no longer get water from their household taps because a water main break led the city to shut down service. Mayor Ken Welch had told residents to expect long power outages and the possible shutdown of the sewer system.State officials said they completed more than 40 rescues overnight and crews would be going door to door in some areas Thursday. In Tampa, police said they rescued 15 people from a single-story home damaged by a fallen tree."We are laser-focused on search-and-rescue operations today," said Col. Mark Thieme, executive director of the Florida State Guard.Tornado impactsAmong the scores of tornadoes, one twister touched down in the lightly populated Everglades and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado hit in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and tearing a gas station's canopy to shreds.FEMA Administrator Criswell on Thursday said said the 38 twisters that touched down in Florida caused "significant damage to a level that Floridians have not seen from tornadoes."The Spanish Lakes Country Club near Fort Pierce, on Florida's Atlantic Coast, was hit particularly hard, with homes destroyed and at least five people killed in tornadoes, the St. Lucie County Sheriff's Office said.Surveillance video above captures video of tornado in Fort Myers during Hurricane MiltonBefore the hurricane arrived, about 125 homes were destroyed, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, said Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.What's next About 80,000 people spent the night in shelters and thousands of others fled after authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people.Video above: Federal aid mobilizes in wake and destruction of Hurricane MiltonIn Orlando, Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and Sea World remained closed Thursday. The Tampa airport, which took minimal damage, was expected to reopen no later than Friday, DeSantis said.Video above: Crane collapses into a building in St. PetersburgCrossing the bridge from the mainland to Anna Maria Island early Thursday, Police Chief John Cosby breathed a sigh of relief. Nearly all residents had evacuated, there were no injuries or deaths and the projected storm surge never happened. After fearing that his police department would be under water, it remained dry."It's nice to have a place to come back to," he said. Meanwhile, airports, including Tampa International and nearby St. Pete-Clearwater International, were shut down.And tourism in Orlando, about 84 miles inland from Tampa, halted Wednesday after the city's airport — the nation's seventh busiest and Florida's most trafficked — ceased operations. At least three major theme parks — Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld — also closed.The Tampa airport sustained minimal damage and was expected to reopen Friday.Vehicle traffic was heavy on Thursday night as a flood of vehicles headed south Thursday evening on Interstate 75, the main highway that runs through the middle of Florida, as relief workers and evacuated residents headed towards the aftermath of Hurricane Milton.At times, some cars even drove on the left-hand shoulder of the road, adding an extra travel lane to the highway. Cars, bucket trucks and fuel tankers streamed by, along with portable bathroom trailers and a convoy of emergency vehicles from the Bay and Escambia County Sheriff’s Offices.As residents raced south to find out whether their homes were destroyed or spared, finding gas was still a challenge, with fuel stations still closed as far away as Ocala, more than a two and a half hour drive north of where the storm made landfall.___This version removes an erroneous reference to 150 tornadoes. Scientists say it's too early to know how many tornadoes developed.