With at least a day until it makes landfall, Hurricane Milton has already reached over 180 mph winds, making it the fifth strongest hurricane in Atlantic history.
Milton went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in only a few days, causing many in the Central Florida area to panic and flee. Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Hillsborough, Lee, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas and Volusia County have all issued mandatory evacuation orders due to Hurricane Milton.
Interstate 75 northbound has remained a congested mess so far this week from the Gulf Coast counties north to Alachua and beyond.
Current predictions show storm surges reaching up to 15 feet of water in the Tampa Bay area. As of Monday morning, Tampa Bay has already experienced standstill traffic from residents seeking shelter. A majority of the state west of I-75 has been put on a hurricane watch, while southern and northern regions of Florida have been placed on tropical storm watch.
"Please, if you're in the Tampa Bay area, you need to evacuate," said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of Florida Emergency Management. "Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100% preventable if you leave."
Twelve days ago, Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida and devastated thousands across the southeast United States. Helene’s death toll has reached over 200 – making it the second deadliest hurricane to make landfall in the United States since Katrina. More than half of the deaths happened in North Carolina, where most communities did not have time to prepare for the intensity of the storm. Hundreds of people are still missing and there were almost 800,000 homes without power a week after the storm had passed.
In Cedar Key, residents experienced almost 10 feet of storm surge, flooding homes and businesses – which is four feet higher than what they experienced from Idalia only 13 months ago. In early August, Hurricane Debby made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane, leaving additional damages to the town. Now, they prepare for Milton who is predicted to give them seven inches of rain and additional storm surge.
“You know, homes just absolutely flattened and/or just washed out to sea to never be seen again,” said Cedar Key 1842 Daily Grind business owner Ben Iversen. “It’s beyond words.”
The coast wasn’t the only part of Florida to experience damage. Even though Gainesville wasn’t in Helene’s direct line of destruction, fallen power lines and tree debris covered the city. Dakota Cole, a University of Florida student, had his roof collapse on top of him in the middle of the night during Hurricane Helene. His roommates and he had to seek refuge in their bathroom until the storm passed.
The next morning, they realized the giant oak tree in front of their home had its full weight on their home – completely uprooted from the ground. Local neighbors came to check on the boys to ensure they were safe and helped them gather their belongings to be moved to a new location. There is no word if any member of the household was seriously injured.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis placed 51 counties under state of emergency, even southern counties completely out of the storm’s cone of concern like Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. During a recent press conference, DeSantis voiced his concern for the possible dangers of Milton and how proper danger procedures need to be put in place.
“The forecast indicates that Tropical Storm (now Category 5) Milton will be at or near a catastrophic major hurricane upon landfall along the Florida West Coast, accompanied by life threatening storm surge and severe wind gusts for the Florida Gulf Coast; and an amendment to Executive Order 24-214 is necessary because recovery efforts and those affected by this disaster require the continued support of the State of Florida; and as Governor of Florida, I am responsible to meet the dangers presented to the State of Florida and its people by this emergency,” DeSantis said.
On Saturday, DeSantis issued an executive order for landfills in counties impacted by Helene to open so residents could dump their storm debris. This is to help prevent the debris from becoming an additional hazard during floods and storm surges from Milton in the days ahead.
