President Joe Biden postponed a scheduled official trip to Germany and Angola to instead remain at the White House and monitor the path of Hurricane Milton, which threatens Florida’s Gulf Coast as a historic storm, the White House announced Tuesday.
The Democratic administration’s press secretary, Karine Jean-Pierre, said in a statement that the change was necessary “given Milton’s projected track record and strength.”
Biden will oversee “preparations and response to Hurricane Milton, as well as the ongoing response to the impacts of Hurricane Helene in the Southeast.”
The storm that threatens to make landfall next Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area will be the second major meteor to affect the country in less than two weeks, after Helene left at least 230 dead as it passed through several states, including Florida.
The White House did not indicate when the trip might be rescheduled. Biden promised to go to Africa during his term, which ends next January.
In a press conference on Tuesday, Biden urged those ordered to leave to “evacuate now” before Hurricane Milton reaches Florida. The president stated that this is a matter of life or death.
“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in more than a century, and God willing it won’t be, but it looks like it will be right now,” Biden said.
The US president added that he has approved emergency declarations before Hurricane Milton reaches Florida and is asking airlines to adapt to evacuations and not engage in price speculation.
Hurricane Milton weakened slightly Tuesday but remained a ferocious storm that could deliver a once-in-a-century direct hit to the populous Tampa region with towering storm surges and turn debris left behind by Hurricane Helene into projectiles. 12 days.
Nearly the entire west coast of Florida was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as the storm and its 145 mph (230 kph) winds swirled near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula, moving toward the state at 19 km/h (12 mph) and absorbing energy from the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
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