Hurricane Milton knocks out power to roughly 3M as deadly storm exits Florida, rescue efforts begin

Hurricane Milton on Thursday morning moved off Florida's central coast after grinding across the state overnight – knocking out power to an estimated 3 million home and businesses and creating widespread flooding.

The storm made landfall Wednesday at about 8:30 p.m. as a Category 3 hurricane near Tampa, on the state's Gulf Coast, and was downgraded overnight to a Category 2 storm. 

Milton headed into the Atlantic Ocean on Thursday morning at about 7:30 off Cape Canaveral as a Category 1 storm with heavy rain and maximum sustained winds of 85 mph, according to the National Hurricane Center. 

CNN reported that at least three people have died as a result of the storm.

Multiple deaths have been reported from a tornado that hit a senior community in St. Lucie County.

The roof of Tropicana Field, where Major League Baseball's Tampa Bay Rays play, was torn apart, according to WUSF.

In addition, the National Weather Services has issued more than 100 tornado warnings in parts of Florida.