Hurricane Milton growing stronger as it blows toward Florida's Tampa Bay

Hurricane Milton quickly intensified on Sunday and is on track to become a major hurricane with the Tampa Bay area in its sights, putting Florida on edge and triggering evacuation orders along a coast still reeling in Helene's aftermath.

While forecast models vary widely, the most likely path suggests Milton could make landfall on Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area and remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida into the Atlantic Ocean, forecasters said. That would largely spare other southeastern states ravaged by Hurricane Helene, which caused catastrophic damage from Florida into the Appalachian Mountains and a death toll that rose on Sunday to at least 130 people.

 

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Sunday that while it remains to be seen just where Milton will strike, it is clear that Florida is going to be hit hard -- "I do not think there is any scenario where we do not have major impacts at this point."

Hurricane Milton was centred about 815 miles (1,310 kilometres) west-southwest of Tampa on Sunday afternoon, with maximum sustained winds of 80 mph (130 kmh), the National Hurricane Center said.

"You have time to prepare -- all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place," the governor said. "If you are on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you will be asked to leave."

With Milton achieving hurricane status, this is the first time the Atlantic has had three simultaneous hurricanes after September, said Colorado State University hurricane scientist Phil Klotzbach. There have been four simultaneous hurricanes in August and September.

The St Petersburg-Tampa Bay area is still cleaning up extensive damage from Helene and its powerful storm surge. Twelve people perished as Helene swamped the coast, with the worst damage along the narrow, 20-mile (32-kilometre) string of barrier islands that stretch from St Petersburg to Clearwater.
 

DeSantis expanded his state of emergency declaration on Sunday to 51 counties, and said Floridians should prepare for more power outages and disruption, making sure they have a week's worth of food and water and are ready to hit the road. The Federal Emergency Management Agency, meanwhile, coordinated with the governor and briefed President Joe Biden on Sunday on how it has staged lifesaving resources.

"I highly encourage you to evacuate" if you are in an evacuation zone, said Kevin Guthrie, executive director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management. "We are preparing ... for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma."

The state has prepared emergency fuel sources and EV charging stations along evacuation routes, and "identified every possible location that can possibly house someone along those routes", Guthrie said. People who live in homes built after Florida strengthened its codes in 2004, who do not depend on constant electricity and who are not in evacuation zones, should probably avoid the roads, he said.

All classes and school activities in St Petersburg's Pinellas County preemptively closed on Monday through Wednesday as Milton approached, and officials in Tampa opened all city garages free of charge to residents hoping to protect their cars from floodwaters, including electric vehicles.

As many as 4,000 National Guard troops are helping state crews to remove debris, DeSantis said, and he directed that Florida crews dispatched to North Carolina in Helene's aftermath return to the state to prepare for Milton.

"All available state assets ... are being marshalled to help remove debris," DeSantis said. "We are going 24-7 ... it is all hands on deck."

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell defended her agency's response to the hurricane's destruction after Republicans' false claims, amplified by former President Donald Trump, created a frenzy of misinformation across devastated communities.

"This kind of rhetoric is not helpful to people and it is really a shame we are putting politics ahead of helping people," Criswell told ABC's George Stephanopoulos. It has created fear and mistrust among residents against the thousands of FEMA employees and volunteers on the ground across the southeast, she said.

Despite this, Criswell said the agency is already preparing for Milton, well before it is clear exactly where it will move across the Florida peninsula this week. "We are working with the state there to understand what their requirements are going to be, so we can have those in place before it makes landfall," she said.

Federal disaster assistance has surpassed USD 137 million since Helene struck more than a week ago, one of the largest mobilisations of personnel and resources in recent history, FEMA said on Sunday.

Some 1,500 active-duty troops, more than 6,100 National Guardsmen and nearly 7,000 federal workers have been deployed, shipping more than 14.9 million (1.49 crore) meals, 13.9 million (1.39 crore) litres of water, 157 generators and 505,000 tarps, along with approving more than USD 30 million in housing and other types of assistance for over 27,000 households, according to FEMA, the White House and the Department of Defense.

More than 800 people unable to return home are staying in lodging provided through FEMA, and 22 shelters are still housing nearly 1,000 people as mobile feeding operations continue to help survivors.