The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned of wind speeds of up to 200 km/h. “Milton” is expected to remain at this strength, the second highest on the hurricane scale, in the coming days, the NHC said.
Emergencies and evacuations
According to forecasts, “Milton” will first sweep over the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and then make landfall on the west coast of Florida on Wednesday. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis declared a state of emergency for other areas and the first evacuations were ordered on Monday. The head of the US disaster management agency FEMA, Deanne Criswell, told the ABC broadcaster that the federal authorities were “fully prepared” for the storm and that the regional authorities were receiving additional funding.
Photo gallery: After “Helene”: Hurricane “Milton” heads for Florida
(Photo: GREGG NEWTON (AFP)) Photo 1/31
Florida and other states in the southeastern United States were hit by Hurricane Helene in late September. The storm, which also hit the coast with hurricane force, caused extensive damage, several buildings were damaged or completely destroyed, and the power supply was paralyzed in many places.
According to US authorities, at least 225 people were killed by “Helene”. This makes “Helene” the worst storm to hit the US mainland in the last 50 years, after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
