Milton caused heavy damage. But some of Florida's famous beaches may have gotten a pass.
SIESTA KEY, Fla. − The power's out for millions, the roof is blown off the baseball stadium, and the world-famous Salvador Dali museum is closed, all thanks to Hurricane Milton. But none of that stopped James and Jessica Dupont from bringing their four kids to the beach.
As the sun climbed into the blue sky less than a day after landfall, James dug his toes into the white sand and watched their young children play. Their house was essentially untouched, he said, but it was too hot to sit inside.
“It’s nicer out here,” he said as the rolling waves crashed ashore and seagulls squawked overhead.
Their trip to the beach underscores a small wave of possible good fortune for Sarasota County after the storm: Many of the area's 35 miles of pristine beaches, visited by 6.5 million tourists from around the U.S., may have escaped Milton's blow.
"Initial observations [show] public beach parks including Siesta Beach appear to have not been substantially impacted," county spokesperson Genevieve Judge told USA TODAY. She cautioned, though, that Sarasota County is "still in the process of evaluating our local beaches for direct damage and impact."
More than 3 million were left without power after Milton blasted through the region as a Category 3 storm on Thursday. And while there are still many pieces to be picked up - such as the remains of the roof of Tropicana Field, home to Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays - there's solace for residents in knowing that some of Florida's most beloved attractions weren't destroyed.
Two weeks ago, several beaches were "substantially impacted" by Hurricane Helene, Judge said, including North Jetty Park, Turtle Beach Park and Caspersen Park.
Many areas hit hard
Across Florida, the storm left roads flooded, trees unrooted and structures destroyed. On hard-hit Siesta Key, where the storm made landfall, many homes and buildings were seriously damaged by Helene two weeks ago, and some residents had only just finished cleaning up from that storm before Milton slammed into the island.
Sarasota County Chief of Emergency Management Sandra Tapfumaneyi said teams are still assessing damage and catching up on responding to 911 calls made Wednesday night during the peak of the storm.
Drone photos taken Thursday morning on Siesta Key show flooded neighborhoods, toppled trees and large items like furniture littering roads.
Top beaches hit by Hurricane Milton
Several of the top-ranked beaches in Florida lay squarely in the path of Hurricane Milton, and authorities in the area are still assessing the damage from storm surge.
Speaking to CBS News on Thursday morning, Tapfumaneyi said barrier islands like Siesta Key and coastal areas around Venice may have gotten the worst storm surge − about 7 or 8 feet.
Other famous beaches that faced devastating storm surge from Milton on Florida's west coast include Venice, Anna Maria island and Lido Key Beach, directly north of Siesta Key.
Downtown St. PetersburgCrane collapses into building where Tampa Bay Times is located
But Tapfumaneyi reassured affected communities that storm surge was not as severe as predicted.
"Overall, it does appear that the storm surge that was predicted at that high amount may not be as high as they thought," Tapfumaneyi said on the CBS Mornings news program. "That's great news."
Power outage map3 million Floridians without power following Hurricane Milton
MLB stadium roof damaged
Destructive winds from Hurricane Milton damaged the roof of St. Petersburg's Tropicana Field late Wednesday night, the home stadium of MLB's Tampa Bay Rays. Officials had transformed the baseball stadium into a base camp for emergency responders and set up rows of green cots.
Earlier this week, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the stadium would serve as a 10,000-person base camp for debris cleanup operations and first responders. Footage from local television stations and photos shared on social media showed part of the stadium’s roof torn off amid high winds.
St. Petersburg Fire Rescue told ABC News that authorities were in contact with people inside the stadium and confirmed they were safe. WFTS-TV reported there were no injuries.
ZooTampa animals safe after sheltering overnight
ZooTampa staff moved around 350 animals to hurricane shelters and a storm "ride-out team" stayed at the zoo overnight Wednesday, Tiffany Burns, ZooTampa’s senior director of animal programs told USA TODAY Thursday morning.
In total, the 1,000 animals at the Tampa zoo were safe Thursday, with many having stayed overnight in their usual night houses. But the zoo is without power and "sustained some damage" from high winds, spokesperson Sandra Torres told USA TODAY.
Overnight Wednesday, the zoo’s six orangutans shared their night house with birds they had never seen before, said Burns.
The “very intelligent, very intuitive” orangutans were fascinated by being around their new neighbors and some of their “different personalities” came out as a result, Burns said.
Burns told USA TODAY Thursday morning everyone – human and animal – at the zoo is safe after what was “a very long night” for the ride-out team.
World-famous marine lab hit
The Mote Marine Laboratory and Aquarium, which has facilities located on the Anna Maria City Pier, was directly hit by Milton.
The aquarium had been closed since late September, when it began preparing for potential damage from Hurricane Helene, which hit Florida on Sept. 27. It will remain closed for now.
The aquarium's most recent post on X was on Sept. 30 and said staff was cleaning up from Helene, and that all animals "remain safe & under constant care & evaluation."
Salvador Dalí Museum closed
The art museum dedicated to the Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dalí, located just feet from the water in St. Petersburg, Florida, has been closed all week due to Hurricane Milton. The museum will be closed Friday and has not yet released information on when it will re-open.
None of the art in the building was damaged as a result of Hurricane Milton walloping the area, but the iconic outer dome covering of the museum "sustained minor damage," Alexandria Hurley, director of public relations told USA TODAY.
"Nothing has impacted the art collection," Hurley said in a Thursday email, adding that museum staff is "grateful" all artwork "remains safe and unharmed following Hurricane Milton."
Dalí, who lived from 1904 to 1989, is one of the most famous painters from the Surrealism art movement of the 20th century, and his paintings are among the most well-known at museums around the world, including the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Like many other cultural and educational institutions across the Florida cities of Sarasota, St. Petersburg, Clearwater and Tampa, museum staff said online they hope the community is staying safe.
"Stay safe, stay surreal," the museum website's Milton updates page read.
Contributing: Thao Nguyen, USA TODAY