Hurricane Milton has moved into the Atlantic Ocean after ploughing across Florida, where it knocked out power to more than three million customers and whipped up tornadoes.
The storm caused at least ten deaths, authorities told broadcaster CBS, and compounded the misery wrought by Hurricane Helene last month while sparing Tampa a direct hit.
It tracked south after making landfall late on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm in Siesta Key, about 70 miles south of Tampa.
The cyclone had maximum sustained winds of 120mph (205kph) as it roared ashore at 8.30pm local time (1.30am BST)Damage was widespread and water levels may continue to rise for days, but governor Ron DeSantis said it was not "the worst-case scenario".
The deadly storm surge feared for Tampa never materialised, though the storm dumped up to 18in of rain in some areas, he said.
The worst storm surge appeared to be in Sarasota County, where it was 8ft to 10ft - lower than in the worst place during Helene.
In St Petersburg - a city of around 250,000 people - the mains water system was shut down due to hurricane damage.
Heavy rains were cause flooding inland along rivers and lakes as Milton traversed the Florida peninsula and emerged in the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday.
By Thursday morning more than three million homes and businesses were without power across Florida.
About 125 homes were destroyed before the hurricane even made landfall, many of them mobile homes in communities for senior citizens, Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said.
Earlier, officials issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival.
Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people.
By early afternoon on Wednesday, airlines had cancelled about 1,900 flights. SeaWorld was closed all day on Wednesday, and Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando shut down in the afternoon.
