*

Category 3 hurricane makes landfall near Siesta Key, south

of

Tampa Bay

*

At least 19 tornadoes confirmed, 125 houses destroyed

*

Milton expected to cause billions in damage

*

State prepared to engage in search and rescue missions

overnight

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Milton expected to maintain hurricane strength as it

crosses

Florida peninsula

(Recasts after landfall)

By Leonora LaPeter Anton and Brad Brooks

ST. PETERSBURG, Florida, Oct 9 (Reuters) - Hurricane

Milton made landfall on Florida's west coast on Wednesday,

striking a little sooner and further south than forecast,

offering the state a glimmer of hope it might be spared the

worst of the anticipated catastrophe.

The storm made landfall around 8:30 p.m. EDT (0030 GMT) as a

Category 3 hurricane with maximum sustained winds of 120 miles

per hour (195 kph) near Siesta Key, the U.S. National Hurricane

Center said.

Siesta Key is a barrier island town of some 4,500 off

Sarasota about 60 miles (100 km) south of the Tampa Bay

metropolitan area, which is home to more than 3 million people.

With the storm coming ashore before high tide, Governor Ron

DeSantis said he hoped the west coast of Florida could avoid the

worst of the predicted storm surge. Forecasters said seawater

could rise as high as 13 feet (4 meters).

DeSantis also expressed hope that Tampa Bay, once seen as

the potential bull's eye, could avoid major damage and allow

shipping to resume promptly after the storm passes.

Even so, Milton had already spawned at least 19 tornadoes,

causing damage in numerous counties, and destroyed around 125

homes, most of them mobile homes, DeSantis said.

The Hurricane Center labeled it an "extremely dangerous"

storm capable of deadly storm surge, ferocious winds and flash

flooding across Central Florida.

No fatalities had yet been reported, but people were warned

venturing outside could be deadly.

"At this point, it's too dangerous to evacuate safely, so

you have to shelter in place and just hunker down," DeSantis

said upon announcing the landfall.

The storm was expected to cross the Florida peninsula

overnight and emerge into the Atlantic, still with hurricane

force, on Thursday.

Once past Florida, it should weaken over the western

Atlantic, possibly dropping below hurricane strength on Thursday

night, but will nonetheless pose storm-surge danger on the

state's Atlantic coast as well.

Tropical storm force winds were engulfing most of the state.

At sea, the hurricane created waves close to 28 feet (8.5

meters) high, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric

Administration said.

In a state already battered by Hurricane Helene two

weeks ago, as many as two million people were ordered to

evacuate, and millions more live in the projected path of the

storm.

Much of the southern U.S. experienced the deadly force of

Hurricane Helene as it cut a swath of devastation through

Florida and several other states. Both storms are expected to

cause billions of dollars in damage.

ZOO ANIMALS PROTECTED

While human evacuees jammed the highways and created

gasoline shortages, animals including African elephants,

Caribbean flamingos and pygmy hippos were riding out the storm

at Tampa's zoo.

Nearly a quarter of Florida's gasoline stations were out of

fuel on Wednesday afternoon.

In Orlando, many people said they had ridden out previous

hurricanes, but Milton's rapid intensification and warnings from

officials spurred them into taking unusual precautions for the

inland city.

Jim Naginey, a 61-year-old homeless man who has lived in

Orlando for nearly three decades, said he had survived previous

hurricanes on the streets. But he decided to seek shelter during

Milton, joining scores of others in Colonial High School, where

families huddled on the gym floor, munching on bananas and

sandwiches and sipping water provided by Orange County.

"This one seems different," Naginey said. "After seeing what

happened last week in North Carolina, it seems that unexpected

disaster can hit in places not used to it. That's why I decided

to seek shelter here."

The Federal Emergency Management Agency had moved millions

of liters (gallons) of water, millions of meals and other

supplies and personnel into the area. None of the additional aid

will detract from recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene, the

agency's administrator, Deanne Criswell, said earlier Wednesday.

Trucks have been running 24 hours a day to clear mounds of

debris left behind by Helene before Milton potentially turns

them into dangerous projectiles, DeSantis said.

About 9,000 National Guard personnel were deployed in

Florida, ready to assist recovery efforts, as were 50,000

electricity grid workers in anticipating of widespread power

outages, DeSantis said.

Search-and-rescue teams were prepared to spring into

action as soon as the storm passes, working through the night if

needed, DeSantis said.

"It's going to mean pretty much all the rescues are going to

be done in the dark, in the middle of the night, but that's

fine. They're going to do that," DeSantis said.

Major Florida theme parks shuttered ahead of the storm, with

Disney World, Universal Studios and SeaWorld all closing their

doors later on Wednesday.

Nineteen hospitals were evacuated, the Florida Hospital

Association said. Mobile homes, nursing homes and

assisted-living facilities faced mandatory evacuation.

Milton became the third-fastest intensifying storm on record

in the Atlantic, growing from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in

less than 24 hours.