Milton strengthened quickly in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and was expected to become a Category 5 storm on its path to Florida, threatening dangerous storm surges in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after deadly Hurricane Helen. Flooded the coastline.
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According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Stafford Act provides for two types of disaster declarations: an Emergency Declaration and a Major Disaster Declaration. Both types of declarations give the president authority to provide additional federal disaster assistance.
If the President determines that federal assistance is necessary, he may declare an emergency. It complements state and local efforts to provide emergency services to protect life, property, and public health and safety. The total amount of assistance provided for a single emergency may not exceed $5 million, or the President must report this to Congress.
Early Monday afternoon, about two hours before mandatory evacuation orders went into effect, stragglers and workers on Fort Myers Beach were working feverishly to board and leave before the arrival of Milton and its potential surge.
The beach town on Florida’s Gulf Coast was already something of a ghost town, with U-Haul trucks lining the neighborhood’s streets and then pulling away.
This is a neighborhood two blocks from the Gulf Coast that was hit hard by Hurricane Ian two years ago.
Ian’s surviving older homes stand next to new homes that have been rebuilt over the past two years. Half-built houses stand next to the vacant lot.
“This whole street was full of houses,” said Mike Sandell, owner of Pool-Rific Services. His crews planned to remove the pool pump and heater from the residential pool and install them on the second floor of the home to keep them from being washed away by Hurricane Milton’s surge.
“All of these things went away two years ago,” Sandell said. “We are trying to help as best we can. We’ve been in business here for 20 years.”
FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell continues to push back against false claims and conspiracy theories about FEMA’s response to Hurricane Helen.
In North Carolina, more than 1,600 search and rescue members, about 1,700 North Carolina National Guard members and 1,000 active-duty military members joined, according to Gov. Roy Cooper’s office.
“We have thousands of volunteers from the federal government as well as the private sector,” Criswell said Monday at a news conference in Asheville, North Carolina. “And frankly, that kind of rhetoric is demoralizing to our employees who left their families to come here and help the people of North Carolina. And we will be here as long as they need us.”
On Friday, FEMA issued a statement debunking rumors that it would only provide disaster survivors with $750 in recovery assistance.
“For $750, you can get help getting your medication or food in the fridge,” Criswell said. “And we will pay extra for repairs to your home and for lost items. We will help them with rent and travel costs if they go and stay in a hotel. It was all refunded. But I can’t give it to you if you don’t apply. And if people are afraid to apply, it’s hurting them.”
That’s the scene on the interstate Monday afternoon, with residents already heeding pleas from local and state officials to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton.
In some areas, traffic flow has slowed considerably due to the sheer number of cars, semi-trucks and recreational vehicles trying to avoid danger. Emergency officials are telling people in the storm’s path to consider sheltering tens of miles away, rather than hundreds of miles away. This is partly due to concerns that traffic could congest evacuation routes and leave drivers stranded.
“Act now to make sure you and your loved ones are prepared,” county officials posted on the county website.
Sarasota, about 60 miles south of Tampa on Florida’s Gulf Coast, is bracing for whatever Hurricane Milton brings. Evacuations were in place for most of the coast and low-lying areas on Monday. “Leave now,” the website said. Other areas also need to prepare for the storm, officials said.
Sarasota took a notable hit from Hurricane Helen late last month, with many areas in the region flooded from storm surge.
The county said the shelter will open at 10 a.m. Tuesday for people who are unable to leave the area.
“If your plan is to leave the area, leave now, today, Monday. This will be one of the largest evacuations along our state’s west coast. If you wait, you will get stuck in traffic,” the official said.
This is the “black swan” worst-case scenario that MIT meteorology professor Kerry Emanuel and other hurricane experts have feared for years.
Part of it is that, for whatever reason (experts say it’s mostly a bit of luck of geography), Tampa hasn’t had a major hurricane since the deadly 1921 hurricane, which lashed downtown Tampa with an 11-foot (3.3-meter) storm surge. , Emanuel said, although there weren’t many in the city at the time. Since then, the metropolis has grown and is filled with people who think they survived even though they didn’t experience a major storm, he said.
“The population is huge. Emanuel, who has studied hurricanes for 40 years, said: “I always thought Tampa would be the city we had to worry about the most.”
He said the entire basin is low-lying in shape and very vulnerable to flooding.
Milton quickly strengthened to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday, the strongest level on its path from the Gulf of Mexico to Florida.
According to the National Hurricane Center, Milton has maximum sustained winds of 250 km/h.
The team announced in a statement that it plans to leave Tampa on Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Monday game against the Nashville Predators has been canceled. That game was rescheduled for September 27 due to Hurricane Helen.
Milton strengthened quickly in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and was expected to become a Category 5 storm on its path to Florida, threatening dangerous storm surges in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after deadly Hurricane Helen. Flooded the coastline.
A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, and a hurricane and storm surge warning has been issued for most of Florida’s west coast. A hurricane watch was also placed on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, which often floods during intense storms.
The National Hurricane Center said Milton was a Category 4 storm Monday morning in the southern Gulf of Mexico, with maximum sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour. It was expected to become a Category 5 hurricane later Monday, with winds of more than 157 miles per hour (250 kilometers per hour), making it a major hurricane across the eastern Gulf Coast.
Its center could make landfall on the Tampa Bay area coast Wednesday and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that it is essential to clean up Helene’s mess before Milton arrives to ensure it does not become a dangerous flying projectile.
More than 300 vehicles collected debris on Sunday, but landfill gates were locked when they attempted to dump the waste. State police used a rope tied to a pickup truck to break it down, DeSantis said.
“We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape,” DeSantis said. “We have to get the job done.”
Milton quickly strengthened to a Category 4 hurricane on Monday on its path toward Florida’s population centers, including Tampa and Orlando, threatening dangerous storm surges in Tampa Bay and potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after deadly Hurricane Helen swept the coastline. The stage has been set.
The National Hurricane Center in Miami said the storm’s intensity was expected to remain at current levels for the next few days. A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, and a hurricane and storm surge warning has been issued for most of Florida’s west coast.
Milton’s maximum wind speeds reached 240 kilometers per hour (150 mph) in the southern Gulf of Mexico, according to the hurricane center.
Its center could make landfall on the Tampa Bay area coast Wednesday and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. This will provide significant relief to other states devastated by Helen, which killed at least 230 people on its way from Florida to the Appalachians.
Forecasters warned that storm surges of 8 to 12 feet (2.4 to 3.6 meters) could occur in Tampa Bay, and 5 to 10 inches (13 to 25 centimeters) of rain could fall on mainland Florida and the Keys, which could cause flash and river flooding. I said I could. There is about 15 inches (38 centimeters) of space.
▶ Prepare for Hurricane Milton
