Residents along Florida’s Gulf of Mexico coast scrambled Monday to prepare for the arrival of a Category 5 hurricane, as crews scrambled to remove piles of debris left behind by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago and the Roads were filled with people fleeing.
The eye of Hurricane Milton could make landfall on Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not been directly hit by a Category 3 or larger hurricane in more than a century.
Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before making landfall, although it could retain hurricane strength as it passes through Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. That trajectory would exempt other states devastated by Helene, which killed at least 230 people as it passed between Florida and the Carolinas, from its effects.
“This thing about Milton is serious,” declared Tampa Mayor Jane Castor at a press conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she will win 100% of the time.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Monday that it was imperative to remove the debris left behind by Helene before Milton arrived so that it does not become projectiles.
Forecasters warned of the possibility of storm surges of 8 to 12 feet in Tampa Bay. It is the highest level ever forecast for the region and almost double the levels reached two weeks ago during Helene’s landfall, said Maria Torres, spokeswoman for the US National Hurricane Center (NHC).
The storm could also bring widespread flooding. Between 13 and 25 centimeters of rain was forecast in mainland Florida and the Keys, and up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) in some areas.
The Tampa metropolitan area has more than 3.3 million residents.
“It is a huge population. It’s very exposed, it’s very inexperienced, and that’s a losing premise,” said Kerry Emanuel, a meteorology professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. “I always thought Tampa would be the city that would cause the most concern.”
Much of Florida’s west coast was under hurricane and storm surge warnings. A hurricane warning was also issued for parts of the Mexican state of Yucatán, which is expected to be affected by the passage of Milton to the north.
Milton intensified rapidly on Monday over the eastern Gulf of Mexico. It had maximum sustained winds of 285 km/h, the NHC reported. In the afternoon, the center of the storm was located about 1,085 kilometers southwest of Tampa and was moving in an east-southeast direction at 17 km/h.
The Tampa Bay metropolitan area has not yet fully recovered from Helene and its powerful storm surges. Twelve people died there. The worst damage was reported along a chain of barrier islands running from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.
“They are going to be flying missiles”
Lifeguards in Pinellas County, on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay, were removing chairs and other items that could fly when intense winds break out. Elsewhere, stacks of stoves, chairs, refrigerators and kitchen tables waited to be picked up.
Sarah Steslicki, who lives in Belleair Beach, said she was frustrated that more debris had not been picked up sooner.
“They wasted time and haven’t picked up the debris, and now they’re rushing to pick it up,” Steslicki said Monday. “If this one does hit us, they will be flying missiles. There are going to be things floating and flying through the air.”
Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located, ordered the evacuation of areas adjacent to Tampa Bay and all mobile homes and manufactured homes by Tuesday night.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were called in to help, in one of the largest deployments of federal personnel in history.
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