Milton, which upgraded from tropical storm to hurricane status Sunday in the Gulf of Mexico, is expected to make landfall Wednesday as a major hurricane.
Already affected by the devastating passage of Hurricane Helene on September 26, Florida prepared on Sunday for its largest evacuation since 2017, as Hurricane Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico.
Milton, which upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Sunday, is expected to make landfall as a major hurricane on Wednesday, likely near the heavily populated Tampa Bay region, the National Hurricane Center said. -United States (National Hurricane Center).
The new hurricane is expected to affect areas already hit hard by Helene, which made landfall further north on September 26.
“I strongly encourage you to evacuate”
Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, urged people to prepare for “ the largest evacuation we’ve seen quite possibly since Hurricane Irma in 2017 ». « I strongly encourage you to evacuate “, he advised during a press conference.
Florida prepares for new hurricane called Milton
Milton was about 750 miles (1,255 km) west-southwest of Tampa at 7 p.m. EDT Sunday (0000 GMT Monday), packing maximum sustained winds of 90 miles (140 km) and moving east toward Florida at 11 km/h, the National Hurricane Center said.
The northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico, is under a hurricane watch. The wind speed classified it as category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, which has five, but it was likely that it would be reclassified. Private forecaster AccuWeather expected it to reach category 4 out of 5 on its own scale, and be capable of causing large-scale catastrophic flooding.
Mandatory evacuation of more than 500,000 people
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis warned of potentially greater storm surge and more power outages with Milton than with Helen, and said the destruction caused by Helen could be made worse.
« There are areas where there is a lot of debris, so if you get hit by a major hurricane, what will happen to that debris? Damage will increase significantly “said Mr. DeSantis. “ It’s about putting all hands on deck to get this debris to where it needs to be ».
Florida: after Hurricane Helene, state of emergency declared as storm Milton approaches
Pinellas County, which includes the city of St. Petersburg, announced the mandatory evacuation of more than 500,000 people in low-lying areas on Monday, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said at a news conference. He urged people to respect evacuation orders after finding that too many people ignored them during Helen’s passage, leading to the deaths of 12 people in the county and the failure to respond to 1,500 emergency calls.
The county has already ordered the evacuation of six hospitals, 25 nursing homes and 44 nursing homes, or 6,600 patients, said Cathie Perkins, the county’s emergency management director. School was canceled Monday through Wednesday.
« We are already going to have to rebuild for years because of Hurricane Helene, and the consequences of this storm will only make the situation worse said St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch. “ Let’s not forget that Hurricane Helene was 160 km from us and moving in a different direction. This is a powerful Category 2 or 3 hurricane heading directly towards us ».
