MIAMI.- A race against the clock. This time, It’s not just about stocking up. of water or toilet paper, of battery-powered lamps, of long lines at service stations or waiting for free bags of sand. It is about the removal of thousands and thousands of tons of debris that left the Hurricane Helene days ago on the east coast of Florida, and that could act as deadly projectiles in the hands of Milton, the hurricane that would make landfall on the same coast this Wednesday.
Helenethat hurricane last September 27, left a wound that is still open and visible. It made entire homes disappear, buried cars under the sand, flooded streets and houses, deposited boats on gardens, and crushed all kinds of elements in its path, from trees to roofs. The rescue began as soon as it became quiet, and it was thought that the worst was over. But about rainy…wet: the forecast shows that the Tampa Bay region is probably in the middle of the cone of the new hurricane. Helene had storm surges of up to 1.8 metres. Forecast models for Milton still vary widely, but the most likely path would be for it to weaken and then make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area as a Category 3, still a major hurricane.
Florida residents prepare for the impact of Hurricane MiltonJoe Burbank – Orlando Sentinel
“People were very affected after Helene. This is going to be a change in people’s psychology“, César, who lives in Tampa, explains to LA NACION. “Who wants to take this risk? It’s too much. Insurance is going to go up again. “So many insurance companies have gone bankrupt with previous hurricanes,” he thinks out loud, holed up working from home.
Of his entire work team, half have already evacuated. “The situation varies greatly depending on where you live. The hurricane is coming to Tampa, the one on the south side of the center of the hurricane is more complicated,” he points out. The storm surge is expected to be among the highest it has ever been. The water rises and destroys everything, things begin to float and destroy in its path. Milton is now scarier than Helenewhich is saying a lot.
The governor of Florida, Ron DeSantisassured that Debris cleanup will continue in the area until the storm allows it. “Local officials should continue clearing debris from Hurricane Helene before Milton makes landfall. The state of Florida has marshalled unprecedented resources to assist with debris removal. Nearly 8,300 cubic meters of debris have been removed from Pinellas County’s barrier islands and work will continue as long as safety allows,” he said at a news conference this morning.
Ron DeSantis asked to stock up before the arrival of Hurricane MiltonRon DeSantis
The storm surge predicted for Tampa Bay is chilling. Kevin Guthrie, director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management It was very educational to raise awareness of the evacuation among those who live on the coast. “Floods (water) of 1.5 to 3.6 meters are expected. The ceiling where we are now is 3.3 meters. “We are talking about a rise in water like this roof!” he warned.
To Jane Castor, mayor of Tampatheir main concern is also the removal of debris so that do not become flying objects. Hay iron, bricks, wood, mattresses, destroyed furniture, sharp objects like pipes, and others so corroded that it was not even known what they were.
If panic breezes fly over before a hurricane, it is understandable that in Tampa they are hurricane gusts. “We haven’t had a direct impact in over 100 years. The Tampa Bay region was becoming somewhat complacent. But Helene woke everyone up. We had 1.2 to 1.8 meters of storm surge. In all my history in Tampa, in 64 years, I have never seen the damage we suffered with Helene”Castor synthesized.
Perhaps not only because of its scorching power, but also because of Helene’s background, the largest evacuation in Florida in recent years. As is usual in these situations, the governor suspended toll collection to facilitate evacuation, opened shelters, and his hotels are prepared to receive those in need. But they warned that shelter capacity is limited. “We are identifying state buildings and vacant sites that we will open as additional shelters when schools and traditional shelters reach capacity,” Guthrie said.
Since Saturday, it is already difficult to get water and toilet paper in supermarkets. Although it would seem that the Southeast Florida would be outside the Milton Cone If the forecast were true, preparations in Miami have already been underway since the weekend. While they warned that there will be no classes on Wednesday and Thursday, supermarkets were already victims of “hoarders.” The state recommends one gallon jug of water for each person in the household, per day of confinement. Everything ends quickly. People carry six at a time.
In the chats there are already those who ask “who knows of someone who puts up the shutters” (metal sheets that are placed on the windows), they ask if they recommend putting sand bags under the exterior doors, and Milton became a topic of conversation in the after-dinner hours. Perhaps the most interesting has been an Argentine woman, who, when complaining about the lack of toilet paper in the supermarket, reflected after dinner: “why do people take so much toilet paper, if you also run out of water? Are you going to leave all the paper in the toilet? “I stocked up on wet towels,” he said as a half-joke.
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