Hurricane Milton death toll rises to 17 as Florida grapples with power outages, tornado damage

The death toll from Hurricane Milton climbed to at least 17 on Friday, including five fatalities caused by tornadoes that hit St. Lucie County on Florida’s east coast, authorities said.

In St. Lucie County, a coastal region, five people lost their lives, with at least one of the deaths occurring at the Spanish Lakes Country Club Village, a retirement community for those aged 55 and older, according to county spokesman Erick Gill.