Hurricane “Milton” overnight became one of the most destructive hurricanes recorded in the US, it is now making its way towards the state of Florida, whose residents are still recovering from Hurricane “Helen” that hit the state less than two weeks ago. Counties along the Gulf Coast ordered residents to leave in what is expected to be the largest evacuation in the country since Hurricane Irma in 2017. In the afternoon, surges of vehicles flooded highways and created huge traffic jams, long lines also formed at gas stations.
The Meteorological Service warned that it was not clear where Hurricane Milton would hit, but there was concern that its initial impact would be in the Tampa Bay area, which has not been directly hit by a major hurricane since 1921. The area is home to more than 3 million people and is one of the most vulnerable metropolitan areas in the United States to a wave storm.
Hurricane Milton in Florida increased to level 5; Hundreds of thousands are under an evacuation warning
Hurricane Helen made landfall 100 miles north of Tampa Bay in late September, but still brought a historic storm surge to the area. Many houses were destroyed, and more than a dozen people died. Many of them were elderly residents who did not evacuate. “We’re still debating,” said Tampa Mayor Jane Castor. “I’ve been here all my life, Hurricane Helen was the most powerful storm I’ve ever experienced. And now Milton is on his way to us.’
Florida is sending fuel supplies from its storage facilities to area stations to meet the high demand, including more than 100,000 gallons of gasoline, as an additional 1.2 million gallons of gasoline and diesel are on their way to the state, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference Tuesday morning. “We sent fuel over the last 24 hours when the stations ran out of gas,” DeSantis said.
BREAKING: 8,000 national guard and 34 search and rescue aircraft are set to be deployed ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall in Florida, Governor Ron DeSantis has confirmed.https://t.co/PAiZ4D1jU3
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The ruins left behind by Hurricane “Helen” are still in place in the streets. Governor De Santis ordered landfills and waste collection sites to remain open overnight and urged local authorities to do everything they can to clean up the piles of trash before things like stoves, broken concrete slabs and nails become as dangerous as projectiles when Hurricane Milton arrives. “There is one storm and less than two weeks later, another storm is expected. This is not a simple moment. This creates a lot of challenges. So what we have to do is simply work around the clock, until the moment when we can no longer work.’
For the families of those missing from Hurricane Helen, the news of another storm on its way was a punch in the gut. Many Tampa Bay area residents who did not evacuate during Helen said they plan to leave. The state’s emergency management director said hundreds of ambulances were lined up to help evacuate hospitals and nursing homes. Tampa Bay has a relatively large number of elderly residents, which adds to the complexity of the evacuation.
Washington is closely following what is happening in Florida, the US president’s staff Joe Biden Wondering if it’s worth canceling or postponing foreign meetings for both countries that were scheduled to start on Thursday. Biden planned a major summit Saturday in Germany, with the leaders of France, Britain and other European countries taking time to travel to a US air base for talks on maintaining support for Ukraine.
As of this writing, a German source told the American CNN network that they had not yet learned that Biden would cancel his visit. Still, White House aides did not rule out a change in plans. Biden was scheduled to receive a briefing on the storm Tuesday morning and deliver remarks from the Roosevelt Room afterward. The president and White House officials are deeply concerned about misinformation being spread about the federal response to Hurricane Helen last week, including lies repeated by the former president Donald Trump.