Hurricane Milton devastates Florida, leaving millions without power

[Anchor]

Hurricane Milton, described as the worst in a century, has struck the state of Florida in the United States.

With over 3 million households experiencing power outages and fatalities reported, there are analyses suggesting it will have a significant impact on the U.S. presidential election.

Washington correspondent Kim Ji-sook reports.

[Report]

The strong winds and rain have torn off the roof of a professional baseball stadium.

The inside of the stadium has turned into complete chaos.

A large crane has collapsed and hit the exterior wall of an apartment building.

Massive tornadoes are swirling everywhere, and as lightning strikes, vehicles speed up to escape.

Homes ravaged by the tornado are so destroyed that they are barely recognizable.

[Robert Height/Victim: "I heard a piece of glass crack and it sucked the whole roof off and I felt the thing suck me up and I grabbed my kid and my wife and hunkered down."]

On the evening of Oct. 9 local time, Hurricane Milton is causing widespread damage as it moves through Florida.

Fatalities have been reported, and power has been cut off to 3 million households.

The amount of rain that fell in one day reached up to 465mm.

CNN reported that this amount is what one might expect to see once in a thousand years.

Although Milton has weakened to a Category 1 hurricane, it is crossing through central Florida, and further damage is expected.

There are analyses suggesting that it could lower the U.S. economic growth rate, and it is emerging as a significant variable that could shake up the presidential election, intensifying the blame game.

[Donald Trump/Former U.S. President/Republican Presidential Candidate: "Worst, the worst ever. They say they had no money. You know, where they gave the money? To illegal immigrants coming in..."]

[Joe Biden/U.S. President: "That's simply not true. It's undermining the confidence in the people in Florida. And an incredible rescue and recovery work..."]

As voter turnout had declined in areas that experienced severe damage in the past, there is growing interest in how the hurricane damage concentrated in battleground states and Republican strongholds will affect the election.

This is Kim Ji-sook from KBS News in Washington.