The storm’s strength is expected to fluctuate and it will weaken slightly to a Category 3 before making landfall on the west coast of Florida. (Read more below the post)
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The National Weather Service (NWS) in Tampa Bay, meanwhile, is warning of “historic and life-threatening storm surges” in parts of Central Florida when Milton makes landfall, exceeding those of Hurricane Helene, which wreaked havoc in the same region two weeks ago and at least 236 people died. At Helene the average storm surge was 7 feet (over 2.1 meters) high, at Milton storm surges of 10 (over 3 meters) to as much as 15 feet (over 4.5 meters) are expected.
Authorities have urged Florida residents who may be in the hurricane’s path to evacuate. “If you’re going to leave, leave now,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said Tuesday. “You have time, today. Time will quickly run out if you wait any longer.” The state also helped evacuate about 300 health care facilities, DeSantis said.
Many have complied with evacuation orders, resulting in long traffic jams. Nearly a fifth of gas stations in the state were already out of fuel on Tuesday evening, Reuters news agency reported.
Several cities and counties have implemented curfews for residents staying put, in most places from Wednesday evening to Thursday morning. Among other things, there is great concern about the danger of flying debris, because most of it could not yet be cleared after Helene’s passage.
At the Tampa Zoo and Aquarium, about twenty staff members are preparing to continue caring for the animals that could not be evacuated, including elephants and giraffes. (Read more below the post)
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In the meantime, tens of thousands of workers, including from California, have already been brought to Florida and are ready to restore electricity supplies. Long-term power outages are forecast. The army has also prepared troops and equipment for rescue and recovery work.
Damage in Mexico
In Mexico, where the hurricane passed off the coast on Monday night and Tuesday morning, damage is reported in Yucatán, but according to the governor it is not too bad. No deaths have been reported either. However, almost 40 percent of the state’s residents are without power. CNN reports that streets in the region were flooded, trees were uprooted and toppled, and docks were damaged and boats capsized in the port of Progreso.
Including Milton, only 42 hurricanes have become this powerful in the Atlantic Ocean, according to data from the U.S. Institute of Meteorology and Oceanography (NOAA). Prior to this season, there were only two Category 5 hurricanes — the strongest category — in that ocean in the 2020s: Ian in 2022 and Lee in 2023.
