Some Florida residents breathe sigh of relief as they return home: ‘We were very nervous’

While some parts of Florida saw deaths and destruction, others fared reasonably well in wake of Hurricane Milton

• Hurricane Milton - live updates

After Hurricane Milton came ashore on Florida's Gulf coast, Carla Simionescu was reassuring relieved relatives on Thursday morning on the phone while she took photos of the tree branches, rocks, bits of wood and other debris littering the front yard and gravel driveway of her Sarasota house.

The 46-year-old waitress lives a mere six miles (10km) from the seaside community of Siesta Key, where the storm made landfall at around 8.30pm on Wednesday evening.