TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Florida residents evacuated the Tampa Bay area Tuesday after fearing a once-in-a-century direct hit. Hurricane Milton, Crews worked frantically to prevent furniture, appliances and other waterlogged debris from the last major storm from becoming lethal projectiles.
Tuesday marks the last chance for millions of people Tampa metro area To prepare for deadly storm surges, ferocious winds and possible hurricanes in a place that has avoided a reversal from a major storm for generations.
“Today is the last day to prepare,” said former FEMA director Craig Fugate. “It brings everything.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state has sent 300 dump trucks to remove 1,300 loads of trash. Hurricane Helen Tuesday afternoon. At Clearwater Beach, Nick Szabo had the second-longest day, carrying a 3-foot (0.9-meter) pile of soaked mattresses, couches and drywall. City Contractors.
“All this nonsense will be missiles,” he said. “It’s like a spear coming at you.”
Residents leave as Milton regains strength
After weakening slightly, Milton regained strength on Tuesday afternoon with sustained winds of 160 mph (260 km/h), again becoming a Category 5 storm. It is likely to cross the coast on Wednesday night Tampa Bay AreaIt has a population of more than 3.3 million people. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that about 5.9 million people live in the 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation orders.
The National Hurricane Center said Milton could fluctuate in intensity as it moves across the Gulf of Mexico, but is expected to be a dangerous storm by the time it reaches Florida.
Milton’s forecast track also wobbled slightly Tuesday, meaning it could make landfall Wednesday in populated areas just south of Tampa Bay, the center said.
However, the storm is expected to bring the entire region to a standstill.
It is difficult to predict the exact landfall location a day before it is expected to make landfall. Forecasts call for winds of just over 60 miles (96 kilometers), the hurricane center said.
Those who violate evacuation orders are on their own, and first responders will not risk their lives to save them at the height of the storm.
“You don’t have to go far on the interstate,” DeSantis told a news conference, assuring residents that they would have enough gasoline to fuel their cars for the trip. “You can clear ten miles. You don’t have to venture hundreds of miles away.
As much as 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain is possible as Milton crosses central Florida and heads toward the Atlantic Ocean, the hurricane center said. That path often saves others States destroyed by HelenIt killed at least 230 people in its path from Florida Carolinas.
Tampa braces for potential historic storm fueled by warming waters
As climate change worsens the conditions that allow warming waters to thrive, recurring hurricanes rapidly intensify into stronger storms. Milton is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1.
Much of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as the system spun off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and crawled ashore, absorbing energy. Warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. A cyclone warning was extended to the eastern coastal areas of the state on Tuesday morning.
Tampa Bay hasn’t been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and officials fear its luck is about to run out. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued increasingly dire warnings, noting that a 15-foot (4.5-meter) surge could swallow an entire house.
“So if you’re in it, that’s basically the coffin you’re in,” he said.
Because even historic hurricanes like Andrew, Harvey and Katrina didn’t actually hit a major metropolitan area directly, there’s no better recent example of how bad it could be. They were all on the sidelines, said Brian McNoldy, a hurricane researcher at the University of Miami.
“It’s hard to see where this is going to come out,” McNoldy said. “If this is not the worst case … the next worst case is even worse.”
Fuel lines, missed flights and heavy traffic
In Riverview, south of Tampa, several drivers waiting in a long line for gas Tuesday morning said they had no plans to leave.
“I think we’ll hang on, you know – it’s tough,” said Martin Oakes of nearby Apollo Beach. “We’ve closed the shutters. The house is all set. So this is the last piece of the puzzle.”
Ralph Douglas, who lives in neighboring Ruskin, said he will stay the same because he’s worried about running out of gas or being blocked by debris trying to get back after the storm.
“Where I’m at right now, I don’t think I want to leave,” he said.
At the Tampa airport, John Fedor and his wife tried to catch a cab to a hurricane relief center after missing several flights to Philadelphia. They hoped taking a Caribbean cruise would bring them closer, but tensions escalated after travel delays cost them nearly $1,000 on unplanned transportation and hotel rooms. After a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) walk to the airport, Federer’s suitcase cracked open and the wheels broke. They thought of driving home or taking the train, but nothing worked.
“It’s like we’re stuck here,” Fedor said.
President Joe Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Florida, the White House announced Tuesday. Postpone travel to Germany and Angola To track the storm.
“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in a century,” Biden told reporters. “If God wills it will not happen. But now it seems that way,” he said.
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has nearly 900 personnel in the region and has stocked two staging areas with 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water, the White House said.
Stragglers were a problem during Helen’s time and Ian in 2022. Many residents said they were evacuated during previous storms only because the big waves didn’t act. But there was evidence Tuesday that people had heeded warnings to evacuate before Milton arrived.
The Florida Highway Patrol reported heavy northbound and eastbound traffic on all roadways and said state troopers were escorting fuel tankers to help distribute gasoline.
About 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was almost a ghost town. Ian devastated the community two years ago with its 15-foot (4.5-meter) storm surge. Fourteen people died there. On Tuesday, the nearby Callosahatchee River was already turbulent, slamming hard against the sea wall.
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Spencer reported from Fort Myers Beach. Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in New Hampshire, Kurt Anderson and Kate Payne in Tampa, Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Seth Borenstein in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.
