Milton, a hurricane that has strengthened in record timeis now category 5, the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale.
According to the criteria of
The tropical cyclone, which has maximum sustained winds of 160 miles per hour, will cross almost all of Florida from west to east starting next Wednesday, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC) of the United States.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis recalled this Monday that 51 of Florida’s 67 counties had already been declared under emergency ahead of Milton’s arrival and stressed that it is expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday night.
DeSantis said the state government is deploying trucks full of food and water, ambulances and flood protection systems to protect critical infrastructure in central Florida.
Minute by minute of Hurricane Milton
The ‘largest’ evacuation since Irma
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis today urged communities to heed evacuation calls, also warning of the double risk posed by the arrival of Milton and a large amount of debris left by Helene, which has not yet been collected.
“I have the State Emergency Response Team preparing for the largest evacuation we have seen probably since Hurricane Irma in 2017,” warned Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.
Danger in Tampa metropolitan area
The hurricane has put Florida’s Gulf Coast on alert from Chokoloskee (Collier County) north to the mouth of the Suwanee River (Dixie County), including Tampa Bay and the Dry Tortugas, according to the National Weather Service.
In that wide area there are “an increasing risk” of storm surge and destructive winds starting Tuesday night or early Wednesday, according to the NHC, which urged its residents to be attentive to evacuation orders from local authorities.
#Live #Hurricane #Milton #quickly #reaches #category #threatens #Florida #United #States