Hurricane Milton increased in intensity to Category 4, the second highest level on the US hurricane scale, which could cause “catastrophic damage” to Florida.
According to the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), storm Milton on October 7 increased from level 1 to level 4 on the US 5-level scale, with winds of 240 km/h, less than two days after it formed in the US. Gulf of Mexico. The storm is currently located about 240 km west of Progreso, Mexico, and is forecast to make landfall on the west coast of Florida in the middle of this week, most likely the night of October 9 or the early morning of October 10.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 51 of the state’s 67 counties, predicting Milton could have “very, very large impacts.” The NHC warned that when Hurricane Milton makes landfall, “catastrophic damage will occur” even to well-built homes, while “power and water will be lost for days to weeks.”
President Joe Biden said the federal government is rushing to prepare relief resources.
Local people filled sandbags to prepare for Hurricane Milton when rain began to fall in the city of Kissimmee, Florida, on October 6. Image: AFP
Florida officials are urging people to evacuate. Chad Chronister, Hillsborough County sheriff, said this locality will order a mandatory evacuation. “Don’t bet on your life and that of your loved ones,” he said.
Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida’s emergency response agency, said officials are preparing for the “largest evacuation” since Hurricane Irma in 2017. Florida had to evacuate nearly 6.8 million. people before Hurricane Irma.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said the city is “still cleaning up after Helene” and that rainfall from the new storm will cause a lot of hardship, not to mention sea level rise and wind damage.
Helene, a category 4 storm, killed more than 225 people in Florida and many other US states at the end of September.
Forecasting the path of storm Milton. Graphics: NHC
Governor DeSantis warned that debris and rubble left behind after Hurricane Helene could significantly increase damage during Hurricane Milton.
Sanitation workers in Florida are working around the clock to clean up the debris before Milton makes landfall. More than 800 National Guard members were also deployed to clean up, a number DeSantis said would soon increase to 4,000.