Florida was ravaged by Hurricane Milton on Wednesday, leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. The storm made landfall as a Category 3 hurricane, bringing with it intense winds that wreaked havoc on the state’s Gulf Coast. One of the most striking visuals of the storm’s fury was the damage inflicted on Tropicana Field, the home stadium of Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays.
Social media platforms were flooded with pictures and videos of the stadium’s roof being torn apart by the storm’s powerful gusts. Multiple panels of the dome were seen dislodged and flying through the air, leaving a gaping hole in the roof and allowing heavy rain to pour in. The stadium’s emergency preparations were rendered useless as the storm’s full force was unleashed.
Before the storm, Tropicana Field was designated as a crucial component of the city’s emergency services response. The stadium was set to accommodate 10,000 people seeking refuge from the storm, with cots and medical facilities on hand to treat those injured. However, the stadium’s conditions were quickly overwhelmed as the storm’s winds ripped through the structure.
Fortunately, no injuries were reported at the stadium, despite the catastrophic damage to the roof. A Tropicana Field spokesperson confirmed that no first responders were stationed at the stadium, and the essential personnel present were all accounted for and safe.
As the storm continued to batter the state, a harrowing incident unfolded in St. Petersburg, where hurricane winds caused a construction crane to collapse. The accident was captured on video and shared widely on social media, but fortunately, no injuries were reported. The incident was just one of many as the storm left a path of destruction in its wake.
The full extent of the storm’s fury was evident in the power outages, with over 2.6 million people reported without electricity. The storm dumped over 17 inches of rain in St. Petersburg, with the National Weather Service issuing flash flooding warnings for the area. The rainfall was described as a 1-in-500-year event, with meteorologist Chris Vickers noting that the area was not accustomed to seeing rainfall of this magnitude. “It’s all coming down so quickly,” Vickers said. “It’s all coming down at two, three, or four inches an hour.” The storm’s impact was felt throughout the state, leaving residents to pick up the pieces and assess the damage.
