Inside the agonising countdown to Hurricane Milton: The Mail's GREG WOODFIELD reveals how killer hurricane headed right for his home - but WHAT happened in the aftermath?

As deadly Hurricane Milton barrelled towards me and my wife on Wednesday evening, the heightened tension was borderline unbearable. Greg Woodfield at first believed they could ride out the storm at their Florida home - before the predictions got worse and worse Debris litters a road at Treasure Island, Florida on October 10 following the hurricane Residents and their pets evacuate Magnolia Avenue after Hurricane Milton flooded the neighbourhood in South Daytona, Florida Cars are submerged in flooding from Hurricane Milton in Tampa Volusia Sheriff's Special Ops team members rescue residents after Hurricane Milton flooded the area in South Daytona, Florida Sunny Shores Mobile Home Park was damaged in Hurricane Milton Satellite picture of Hurricane Milton captured at 7:51 UTC as it approaches Florida on Wednesday Our anxiety grew as we followed the development from the modern hotel in mid-town Tampa where we'd sought refuge – along with hordes of others who had left their homes to the mercy of nature. A vehicle drives though a flooded street after Hurricane Milton, in Siesta Key, Florida, on October 10 Storm damage at a boat storage facility in the aftermath of Hurricane Milton on October 10, 2024 in Grove City This satellite image shows the formation of Hurricane Milton over the Gulf of Mexico A Coast Guard Air Station Miami helicopter crew rescues a man, on October 10, approximately 30 miles off Longboat Key, Florida, following Hurricane Milton Hurricane force wind gusts of Hurricane Milton uprooted trees and caused them to fall on homes, killing several people People rescue a pig from floodwater caused by Hurricane Milton on October 11 A completely destroyed house in Lakewood Park, Florida, after a tornado hit the area An airplane is flipped upside down at the Venice Municipal Airport after Hurricane Milton Milton hit as a Category 3 storm with wind speeds of up to 129mph at 8.30pm local time, the central destructive band smashing into Siesta Key, an island off Sarasota and just south of Tampa Bay. A drone view shows destroyed beach houses after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Manasota Key, Florida First responders in the water outside an apartment complex that was flooded from and overflowing creek due to Hurricane Milton in Clearwater, Florida A tattered American flag flies upside down form a flagpole in Clearwater Beach, Florida Keith and his wife Angel, check on their sailboat that ended up on the sidewalk near Sarasota Bay after Hurricane Milton A man shovels dirt into a wheelbarrow in front of his house in Tampa, Florida After Milton had passed, we drove from our hotel with trepidation through the heavily flooded roads. Bayou West resident Mary Singer, 82, and friend Brita Gwynn, 84, try to salvage items after the hurricane People walk in the water as the streets are flooded in the Seminole Heights area of Tampa Two men move a sofa in Tampa, Florida, as people remove debris and clean their homes A woman collects debris caused by the destruction of the tornado's path in Cocoa Beach, Florida, on October 10 The nearby horse-racing track resembles a decent-sized lake.