Final preparations are underway in Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches as a monstrous storm. Officials warn debris from Helene could become flying projectiles, adding to the danger.
After losing strength overnight, as of 5pm eastern, Milton is back at category 5 hurricane status on the Saffir-Simpson scale. Milton was expected to re-intensify as it makes its way over warm waters, but according to AccuWeather forecasters, will experience some degree of weakening because of wind shear and other factors as it gets closer to the Florida coast. Regardless, Milton will arrive on Florida’s west coast as a major storm, with high winds and devastating storm surge not be taken lightly.
“This is an unusual and extremely concerning forecast track for a hurricane approaching the west-central Florida coast and the Tampa Bay area,” warned AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter, “For many, Milton may be a once-in-a-lifetime hurricane in terms of severity.”
Millions of people are scrambling to leave Florida in the final hours before the ‘storm of the century’ is set to demolish the state’s coastline – with locals and holidaymakers told they may not survive if they remain in place.
The state is holding its breath as category-5 Hurricane Milton is set to devastate the Tampa region upon making landfall tonight with forecasters warning 15-foot floods and 165 miles-per-hour winds will almost certainly lay waste to huge swathes of land.
School districts closed, businesses shut down and mandatory evacuation orders were issued for some six million people as weather officials declared the tempest could be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record.
Thousands of fleeing cars clogged Florida’s highways ahead of the storm amid a mass exodus, but the roads were seen completely empty this morning as dystopian drone footage revealed how towns and cities across the state had turned into ghost towns.
Some have chosen to stay in their homes to ride out the storm, with the debris left by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago still lying by the roadside – but analysts and local officials fear they will struggle to survive.
US President Joe Biden begged Florida residents to flee last night, warning that the Category 5 storm could turn into the worst natural disaster to hit the state in a century.
‘It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not hyperbole,’ Biden said from the White House on Tuesday, urging those under orders to leave to ‘evacuate now, now, now.’