Terrifying new footage emerging from Florida shows a crane fall to the ground from a 515-foot-tall high-rise building.
100mph plus winds swept across the Sunshine State causing damage and destruction to buildings, homes and infrastructure.
The construction crane topples over as the hurricane winds rip through the state.
Shocking video footage shows the crane falling before crashing onto the ground in St Petersburg - it lands surrounded by a huge pile of debris.
The crane was being used to construct one of the tallest buildings on the west coast of which was due to be completed in summer 2025.
As the continues to damage the area, it looks unlikely this goal will be met now.
According to one eyewitness, the crane fell on the Tampa Bay Times building. Fortunately, no one was injured.
St Petersburg Fire Rescue issued a statement saying the crane collapse and roof damage at Tropicana Field were among two critical reports it had received of damage after Hurricane Milton made landfall south of the city.
St Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch admitted earlier this week he was concerned how the tower cranes would be affected during Hurricane Milton. He said it takes specialised crews roughly a week of planning to remove and disassemble the cranes as they are fixed in place.
Although many staff were in touch with developers who are managing the cranes, due to how long it takes and the impending Hurricane Milton, it was not feasible to lower or secure the tower crane in advance of the hurricane.
Furthermore, despite the tower cranes being put into weathervane mode during the storm, it is only effective for wind speeds of around 100mph. Hurricane Milton has produced winds much stronger than this as it made landfall.
It comes as will continue to bring "devastating rains and damaging winds" across the central Florida peninsula throughout Thursday before exiting the state late in the day for the Atlantic Ocean, the National Weather Service says.
The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 105 miles per hour (165 km/hour) at 11 p.m. Wednesday, according to the weather service, and storm surge warnings were in effect for parts of Florida's western and eastern coastlines.
The weather service said Boca Grande, Florida, could see a surge as high as 13 feet above ground if it hits at the same time as high tide The service also said tornadoes were possible through early Thursday morning over parts of central and eastern Florida.
Multiple tornadoes spawned by the storm caused major damage to several communities Wednesday evening before the hurricane made landfall.
