Hurricane Milton, which made landfall as a Category 3 storm with 120 mph winds off Sarasota, wiped out the Rod and Reel Pier, a seafood restaurant that opened in 1947 on the island’s northern end, according to social media posts from officials.

More than 3 million people were without power across Florida on Thursday as the state launched recovery efforts.

After rapidly intensifying to a rare Category 5 hurricane followed by a gradual weakening to a Category 3 in the Gulf of Mexico, the eye of Milton made landfall at about 8:30 p.m.

Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane on Florida's west coast near Siesta Key.

Nearly two million Floridians are without power after Hurricane Milton hit the Sunshine State late Wednesday less than two weeks since Hurricane Helene's devastation. Over 1.901 million outages have been reported in Florida as of 11 p.