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Highways became congested, gas stations ran out of fuel, and stores were stripped of essentials as Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, leaving residents only a few hours to evacuate read more
 "Milton spinning up tornadoes as hurricane surges closer to Florida")
Broken utility poles downed by strong wind gusts are seen as Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers, Florida, US. on October 9, 2024. Reuters
Highways became congested, gas stations ran out of fuel, and stores were stripped of essentials as Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida’s Gulf Coast on Wednesday, leaving residents only a few hours to evacuate.
Described as a “catastrophic” storm, Milton was on a direct path toward one of the state’s most densely populated areas.
With millions of storm-weary Floridians ordered or urged to evacuate, time was running out.
According to an USA Today report_,_ the National Hurricane Center’s 11 am ET update indicated that the Category 4 storm, with sustained winds of 145 mph, was expected to cross the Gulf of Mexico and make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.
“Historic, catastrophic, life-threatening – all those words summarize the situation,” USA Today quoted Austen Flannery, a forecaster with the National Weather Service in Tampa, as saying.
Tornadic supercells − dangerous, rotating thunderstorms that can produce tornadoes − were beginning to sweep across the Florida peninsula, the report added, citing the update.
According to the report, over 12 million people were under tornado warnings as the National Weather Service in Miami reported “up to 4 visually confirmed tornadoes today,” along with unofficial reports of additional ones.
Hurricane Milton was projected to move across Florida, maintaining its hurricane status as it headed into the Atlantic Ocean later Thursday.
This storm is approaching Florida less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall on the Big Bend coast as a Category 4 storm, leaving much of the state damaged and exposed before causing devastation in the Carolinas.
US President Joe Biden spoke with leaders in Clearwater and Pinellas County Tuesday night, the White House said on Wednesday. The White House said Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris would be briefed on the storm at noon ET and Biden would make remarks later in the afternoon.
Officials including Biden and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned people in evacuation zones to get out or risk death.
“There is high confidence that this hurricane is going to pack a major, major punch and do an awful lot of damage,” Reuters quoted Governor Ron DeSantis as saying at a morning briefing.
He, however, said the state is prepared.
Hundreds of search and rescue personnel and 180 high-water vehicles have been embedded in likely storm impact sites, he added.
Over 6,000 state National Guard members and 3,000 more from other states are at the ready, along with 50,000 linemen who will work on restoring power after the storm.
Tampa, with a metropolitan area that is home to over 3 million people, has not had a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than 100 years. Storm surge from Milton could drive water levels up to 12 feet above ground, USA Today quoted the hurricane center as saying.
With inputs from agencies
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English (US) ·