As Hurricane Milton whipped across St. Petersburg, Fla., on Wednesday night, a fallen crane sprawled across First Avenue South. Smoke billowed from the top of a commercial high-rise where the crane had hit it,

Hurricane Milton had just crashed into Florida with 100-mph winds when Tampa Bay Times journalists Zachary T. Sampson and Chris Urso prepared to deploy toward landfall in Sarasota County. Plans changed when they heard about the Trop.

The crane collapse in downtown St. Petersburg, Florida, is one of the most visible symbols of Milton's damage, so much so that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a news conference Friday at the scene. The Times Publishing Co.