The Florida Gulf Coast will soon be preparing for another hurricane as recently-upgraded Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Florida’s coast by mid-week.
The Southeast, notably the Blue Mountain region in North Carolina, is still devastated by the effects of Hurricane Helene. As of 8 a.m. ET Sunday, Milton was 860 miles west-southwest of Tampa, Florida with maximum sustained winds estimated to be 65 mph.
“There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and wind impacts for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning late Tuesday or Wednesday. Residents in these areas should ensure they have their hurricane plan in place, follow any advice given by local officials, and check back for updates to the forecast,” the National Hurricane Center warned.
In a news briefing Sunday, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL) said that Milton is expected to make landfall in Hillsborough or Pinellas counties by Wednesday evening.
“I don’t think there’s any scenario where we don’t have significant impacts at this point,” DeSantis said.
Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-FL), whose district encompasses the area where Milton is expected to make landfall, is telling residents to evacuate now.
“We are asking all residents, if they are on the barrier islands or even in flood zones A or B, to start evacuating,” Luna told the Washington Examiner, noting the county has not yet made a mandatory evacuation order yet, but that she was told the order will be made later Sunday or Monday morning.
She said she was briefed by the Pinellas County Emergency Operations Center and that they are expecting flooding of upwards of 10 feet, higher if the Milton grows into a Category 3 or 4 storm. Luna also warned that because of the damage from Helene, the ground in the Tampa area is “completely saturated,” so she believes Milton is “going to probably be something significantly worse.”
Luna said federal resources in the wake of Helene in Florida have been refocused “to moving the debris and to clearing as much as possible before the hurricane makes landfall.”
“In the next 72 hours, we have the National Guard actively working, so we’re telling residents to just focus on evacuating,” Luna said. “Tell your friends, let your family and get out of dodge.”
Schools in the impacted area have already been closed ahead of next week. Luna noted that so long as residents move at least 10 miles east of I-75, the main highway in the area, “they should be safe.”
“There’s gonna be a lot of a lot of wind, but you’ll be safe, safe from the flooding,” Luna said.
President Joe Biden was briefed Sunday morning on Tropical Storm Milton and its effects on the Florida Gulf Coast, as well as the work FEMA is doing in preparation.
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said the agency is “absolutely” prepared for Tropical Storm Milton, noting she spoke with DeSantis on the matter.
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Milton comes less than 10 days after Helene made landfall and devastated mountain communities and Florida’s Gulf Coast. North Carolina and Tennessee are not in the line of projection for this storm at this time.
This storm will be the fifth hurricane to make landfall on the U.S. mainland in 2024. That number ties 2004, 2005, and 1893 for the most hurricanes on record to land in the country.
