Residents who don't evacuate warned 'you will die' as Hurricane Milton heads to Florida at terrifying 175mph
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on Florida's west coast as a Category 5 hurricane as the region is still recovering from the recent deadly Hurricane Helene
Hurricane Milton is predicted to hit Florida's west coast as a Category 5 hurricane, while the region is still reeling from the devastating Hurricane Helene. Forecast to reach up to 175mph, it is expected to be one of the worst storms to hit the state in decades.
Milton was escalated to a Category 5 hurricane early on Monday, with the storm targeting the same area that was battered by Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. The storm rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 Hurricane within days of forming, fuelled by the extremely warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
Authorities are still scrambling to clear the debris left by Helene, which could pose a significant risk when the inevitable storm surge and winds from Milton hit the shore. Millions in Florida are preparing to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton in what's being called the 'biggest' exodus in years - with a local mayor warning anyone who remains that they "will die".
Evacuation orders have been issued for much of the Tampa Bay area in Florida due to the threat of dangerous storm surges and sustained winds of up to 160 mph expected from Milton. In St. Petersburg, officials are warning that the surge could be twice as high during Milton compared to Helene, reports the Mirror US.
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Tampa International Airport has announced a halt to all flights in or out of the airport from 9am on Tuesday in anticipation of Milton's landfall. St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport, located in a mandatory evacuation zone, will close after the last flights depart on Tuesday.
The US National Hurricane Center has issued storm surge warnings for almost the entirety of Florida's west coast, from Flamingo at the state's southern tip to the Suwanee River, which flows into the Gulf of Mexico about halfway between Tallahassee and Tampa.
The majority of that area was also under a hurricane warning. The hurricane centre also issued storm surge watches on the US East Coast, including much of Florida up to parts of South Carolina.
Hurricane Milton's sustained wind speeds increased to 180 mph (290 kph) on Monday afternoon, the hurricane centre said. The Category 5 storm, located 80 miles (125 kilometres) off the coast of Progreso, Mexico, was moving east at 10 mph (17 kph).
"Milton poses an extremely serious threat to Florida and residents are urged to follow the orders of local officials," the hurricane centre said in their latest storm advisory.
While speaking with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said: "I can say this without any dramatisation whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die."
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said that this storm is far stronger than it was predicted to be two days ago. "This is a ferocious hurricane," DeSantis said.
DeSantis added that while the storm is expected to weaken after it makes landfall, residents shouldn't bank on it, and said Milton will cause destruction regardless.
"At the strength it is now, this is a really, really strong storm. The effects of that, not just from the storm surge but from wind damage and debris, will be really, really significant," DeSantis warned. "This is not a storm you want to take a risk on."
In a move earlier on Monday, President Joe Biden declared an emergency for Florida, paving the way for federal aid to supplement disaster efforts. Amidst calls from Biden for Congress to interrupt their recess to green-light additional FEMA funding, House Speaker Mike Johnson held back, unwilling to pledge a return of representatives before the November elections.
The White House has penned a letter to Congressional reps, flagging that while FEMA's Disaster Relief Fund can cover immediate needs, it's predicted to hit a shortfall as the year closes out.
"Without additional funding, FEMA would be required to forego longer-term recovery activities in favor of meeting urgent needs. The Congress should provide FEMA additional resources to avoid forcing that kind of unnecessary trade-off and give the communities we serve the certainty of knowing that help will be ongoing both for the short and long term," the letter insists.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has sounded the alarm, stating FEMA's coffers are too low to weather the remainder of the hurricane season.
During a chat on Fox News on Sunday, Johnson was quizzed about reconvening Congress before the election, to which he replied: "We'll be back in session immediately after the election."
"That's 30 days from now. The thing about these hurricanes and disasters of this magnitude is it takes a while to calculate the actual damages, and the states are going to need some time to do that," Johnson stated. He also mentioned that $20 billion of additional funding was allocated to the Federal Emergency Management Agency before Congress took a break, to handle urgent requirements.
The hurricane named Milton is forecast to make landfall on Florida's west coast come Wednesday, with predictions suggesting it could begin to weaken slightly by the time it strikes the Tampa Bay area. It would be the first significant hurricane to directly hit Tampa in over a century.
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