FLORIDA — Hurricane Milton has made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast, leaving more than 3 million without power and confirmed deaths in St. Lucie County by the coastline.

News10NBC has been in touch with several Rochester natives living in Florida. Barbara Pestorius described what it was like to board up her windows and evacuate across the state to her son’s place. Joe Agostinelli will stay put in Clearwater and is preparing for the worst, blasting the A/C to cool off the apartment in case the power goes out, charging up all his devices, and stocking up on bottled water.

Brandon Markson, a Pittsford native and Ph.D. student at the University of Florida in Gainesville, was able to book a flight out of the city earlier this week. Meanwhile, Sharon Culian, a Greece woman who has a condo in Bradenton, plans to hunker down in her walk-in closet.

We’re working to connect with local people living in Florida now that Milton made landfall to make sure they’re ok and hear about their experiences.

The storm made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key near Sarasota, just south of Tampa. The fabric roof of Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg near Tampa had its roof ripped off by high winds. The stadium was supposed to be the landing place for 10,000 out-of-town first responders.

A construction crane was also toppled by high winds in St. Petersburg. The crane was in use for a 515-foot-tall luxury high-rise building.

The City of St. Petersburg is asking people to avoid the area. We checked and the crane was inside the non-evacuation zone but people just two blocks away were told to get out of town. No injuries were reported for either the crane topping or the stadium being damaged.