As Hurricane Milton intensifies, Florida prepares for largest evacuation ‘most likely since 2017’

Author: Freida Frisaro, Associated Press

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Hurricane Milton intensified quickly Sunday and is on track to become a major hurricane that will target the Tampa Bay area, putting Florida in a difficult situation and prompting evacuation orders along a coast still reeling from the devastation of Helene .

While forecast models vary, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves through Central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said. That would largely spare other Southeastern states devastated by Hurricane Helene, which has caused catastrophic destruction from Florida to Appalachia, with the death toll rising to at least 230 on Sunday.

A Sunday evening discussion by a forecaster at the National Hurricane Center stated that “the intensity forecast appears straightforward at first, with the likelihood of rapid intensification as the small hurricane remains within light shear and over very deep, warm waters.” “Intensity guidance is as optimistic as I have seen in this part of the basin, with almost everything pointing to peak Category 4 or 5 intensity in the southern Gulf of Mexico within a day or two.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday it’s clear Milton will hit Florida hard. “I don’t think there’s a scenario where we don’t have more influence at this point.”

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Milton’s center was about 1,310 kilometers west-southwest of Tampa on Sunday afternoon, with maximum wind speeds of 80 mph.

“You have time to prepare – all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to make sure you have a hurricane preparedness plan,” the governor said. “If you are on the west coast of Florida, on the barrier islands, assume you will be asked to leave.”

In Pinellas County, where St. Petersburg is located, officials issued a voluntary evacuation order for residents of barrier island beaches and mobile home parks. Mandatory evacuations will likely occur.

Since Milton has reached hurricane status, it is the first time since September that there have been three simultaneous hurricanes in the Atlantic, said Phil Klotzbach, a hurricane researcher at Colorado State University. There were four simultaneous hurricanes in August and September.

Extensive damage caused by Helene continues to be repaired in the St. Petersburg-Tampa Bay Area. Twelve people died when the storm surge swamped the coast, with the greatest destruction occurring on a narrow, 32-kilometer strip of barrier islands stretching from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

DeSantis extended Sunday’s emergency declaration to 51 of the state’s 67 counties, home to more than 90% of the state’s nearly 23 million residents. The Panhandle, which continues to recover from other recent storms, is expected to be mostly spared.

Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruptions by making sure they have a week’s supply of food and water and are ready to hit the road, DeSantis said. Meanwhile, the Federal Emergency Management Agency worked with the governor and on Sunday briefed President Joe Biden on how it was providing lifesaving resources.

“We are preparing … for the largest evacuation we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma,” said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management.

The state has prepared emergency fuel sources and electric vehicle charging stations along evacuation routes and “identified every possible place where someone could be on those routes,” Guthrie said. People living in homes built after Florida tightened its regulations in 2004, not dependent on uninterrupted electricity and not in evacuation zones should probably avoid the roads, he said.

All classes and school activities in St. Petersburg’s Pinellas County were preemptively closed Monday through Wednesday as Milton approached, and officials in Tampa opened all city garages free of charge to residents who hoped to protect their cars from flooding, including electric vehicles.

As many as 4,000 National Guard troops are assisting state crews in clearing tons of debris left behind by Helene, DeSantis said, and he directed that Florida crews sent to North Carolina in the wake of Helene return to the state to prepare for Milton. The Florida Department of Emergency Management establishes a base at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, where the Tampa Bay Rays are playing baseball, to support debris removal operations ahead of Milton’s arrival, the governor said.

“All available state assets … are being marshalled to help clean up the debris,” DeSantis said. “We will be operational 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.”

Search and rescue teams on Saturday found 39 more storm survivors still stranded in western North Carolina, Gov. Roy Cooper’s office said. Search and rescue teams have rescued, evacuated or assisted since the storm hit, according to the office.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency’s response to hurricane devastation after Republican false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, sparked a frenzy of misinformation among devastated communities.

“This type of rhetoric is not helpful to people and it’s a real shame that we put politics over helping people,” Criswell told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos, adding that it is causing fear and distrust among residents of thousands of FEMA workers and volunteers on the ground in the southeast.

Criswell said the agency is already preparing to welcome Milton.

“We are working with the authorities there to understand what their requirements will be so that we can meet them before the ship makes landfall,” she said.

Federal aid for disaster survivors has topped $137 million since Helene hit more than a week ago, one of the largest mobilizations of personnel and resources in recent history, FEMA said Sunday.

Approximately 1,500 active-duty troops, more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and nearly 7,000 federal employees deployed, transporting more than 14.9 million meals, 13.9 million liters of water, 157 generators and 505,000 tarps, and approved more than $30 million for housing and other assistance to more than 27,000 households, according to FEMA, the White House and the Department of Defense.

More than 800 people unable to return home are staying in FEMA-provided housing, and nearly 1,000 people remain in 22 shelters, and mobile feeding facilities continue to help survivors. The agency said the response to Helene would not wane during Milton and its aftermath because FEMA was able to respond to multiple disasters at once.

“My administration will spare no expense to support families as they begin the path to recovery,” Biden said. “We will continue to work hand in hand with local and state leaders – regardless of political party and no matter how long it takes.”

The hurricane center said the Yucatan Peninsula, Florida Peninsula, Florida Keys and northwestern Bahamas in Mexico should monitor the system’s progress. Heavy rainfall was expected on Sunday ahead of the storm, likely to combine with Milton’s rainfall, causing flooding of waterways and streets in Florida, where forecasters say up to a foot of rain could fall in places by Wednesday night.

Meanwhile, in the open Atlantic, Hurricane Kirk weakened to a Category 2 hurricane on Sunday, with maximum winds of 100 mph, causing large waves and “life-threatening surf conditions” to Bermuda and north along the United States and the Center said the Canadian coast . Hurricane Leslie also moved over the Atlantic Ocean, away from land, with winds reaching 140 km/h.