It’s a strange feeling, said Melody King, to be grateful for a hurricane that hit with 100 mile-per-hour winds. Waking up the day after Milton pummeled Florida’s west coast, King said she was so anxious she felt sick.

Widespread flooding has begun from the storm surge brought by Hurricane Milton to Fort Myers Beach as conditions rapidly deteriorate on the island. The hurricane is expected to make official landfall in Sarasota County by 10 p.