Florida braces for another hurricane

“We will continue to devote resources to preparing for effective search and rescue operations, restoring electricity and clearing roads,” the Republican governor of the southeastern US state wrote on X.

Tropical Storm Milton is expected to grow into a Category 3 hurricane with winds of 115 miles per hour when it makes landfall in West Florida on Wednesday, October 9, the NHC reports.

Many places in the state, including Tampa and Orlando, could see as much as 8 inches of rain. In some places, up to 30 centimeters of rainfall is expected to fall, raising the risk of flash flooding and rivers overflowing their banks.

“There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind gusts for portions of the west coast of the Florida peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday,” said Dan Brown with NHC. “Areas of heavy rainfall will affect parts of Florida on Sunday and Monday, well before Milton makes landfall.”

Helene has caused enormous destruction to homes, businesses and cars, as well as to infrastructure such as bridges and roads, in several American states such as Florida, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. The hurricane has also claimed the lives of about 200 people due to, among other things, heavy flooding. Furthermore, millions of households were without power.