TAMPA, Florida, USA. —
Hurricane Milton brought its rain and strong winds to Tampa Bay on Wednesday as it made its steady and potentially catastrophic march toward Florida’s west coast, where officials urged residents to evacuate or face grim odds of survival. .
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) said it is not known exactly where the center of Milton will make landfall on Wednesday night because the storm’s path could “move,” but it said the entire Tampa Bay region and areas to the south are at serious risk. Tropical storm-force winds were off the coast at noon, the NHC reported.
Heavy traffic is moving north on Interstate 75 as people evacuate the Tampa Bay area ahead of Hurricane Milton the afternoon of October 7, 2024 in Ocala, Florida.
(Julio Cortez/AP)
“This is it, folks,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director for Pinellas County, which is located on the peninsula that makes up Tampa Bay. “Those who were hit by Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. “They need to leave here and they need to leave now.”
Milton has fluctuated in intensity as it approaches Florida, but was a powerful Category 4 storm midday Wednesday and is expected to remain a Category 3 or larger hurricane when its center makes landfall and then hits the center of the state, meteorologists noted. Tampa Bay, near the top of a long stretch of coast that could be in the eye of the hurricane, has not been hit directly by a major hurricane in more than a century.
An American flag flies over the destroyed City Hall on Saturday, Sept. 28, 2024, in Horseshoe Beach, Fla., in the wake of Hurricane Helene.
(Stephen Smith/AP)
At noon Wednesday, Milton was located 160 miles (260 kilometers) southwest of Tampa and had maximum sustained winds of 145 miles per hour (230 kilometers per hour), the NHC reported. It was moving northeast at 17 mph (28 km/h) and was expected to make landfall Wednesday night, and remain at hurricane strength as it crosses Florida — including the populated Orlando region — through Thursday.
Heavy precipitation was beginning to spread Wednesday morning across parts of southwest and west-central Florida ahead of the storm’s arrival, and the weather was expected to worsen along Florida’s entire Gulf Coast during the day. Forecasts were for 6 to 12 inches (15 to 31 cm) of rain, which in some places could reach 18 inches (46 cm), in central and northern Florida through Thursday. That increased the risk of catastrophic, life-threatening flooding and moderate to severe river overflows. Several tornadoes were likely in areas of central and southern Florida on Wednesday.
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Businesses are seen in a debris field following Hurricane Helene, Wednesday, Oct. 2, 2024, in Chimney Rock Village, North Carolina
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Cars line up to enter a parking lot to get gas at a Costco store, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Altamonte Springs, Fla., in preparation for the landfall of Hurricane Milton.
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Jesús Hernández with his granddaughter Angelina in a flooded street after the passage of Hurricane Helene in Batabano, Mayabeque province, Cuba, on September 26, 2024.
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Drew Griffith walks next to three boats that were swept against a seawall following Hurricane Helene in the Davis Islands Seaplane Basin near Peter O. Airport, Friday, Sept. 27, 2024, in Tampa, Florida. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP)
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A person rides his bicycle through a flooded street as Hurricane Milton passes off the coast of Progreso, in the state of Yucatán, Mexico, on Tuesday, October 8, 2024.
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Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump speaks with Georgia Governor Brian Kemp during a briefing at the Columbia County Emergency Management Agency while visiting areas affected by Hurricane Helene, Friday, Oct. 4 2024, in Evans, Georgia.
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President Joe Biden greets people in Keaton Beach, Florida, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, during his tour of areas affected by Hurricane Helene.
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David DeMeza walks with his belongings through streets covered in sand carried by Hurricane Helene, on October 2, 2024, in Treasure Island, Florida
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Dominick Gucciardo walks home after Hurricane Helene, Thursday, Oct. 3, 2024, in Pensacola, North Carolina. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
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Homes and vehicles damaged by flash flooding caused by Hurricane Helene lie on the side of a road near the Swannanoa River, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Swannanoa, N.C. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)
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Crews remove debris from the streets – generated by Hurricane Helene – ahead of the landfall of Hurricane Milton, on Anna Maria Island, Florida, Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024.
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Contractors help remove debris left behind by Hurricane Helene in New Port Richey, Florida, ahead of the landfall of Hurricane Milton, Monday, Oct. 7, 2024.
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A search and rescue team, consisting of a dog and its handler, searches for victims in the mud after Hurricane Helene, Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2024, in Swannanoa, North Carolina
A tornado struck Wednesday morning in the sparsely populated Everglades area and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado struck Fort Myers, snapping tree branches and destroying a gas station awning.
Forecasters expected the system to retain hurricane strength as it moved across central Florida on Thursday on an easterly path toward the Atlantic Ocean. The exact route remained uncertain, and experts on Tuesday moved their estimate slightly south of Tampa.
Thousands of fleeing cars jammed Florida highways ahead of the storm, but time to evacuate was running out Wednesday. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned that a 15-foot (4.5-meter) storm surge could swallow an entire home.
“So if you’re in there, that’s basically your coffin,” he said.
Milton is advancing towards towns still affected by the passage of Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, which flooded streets and homes in western Florida on a destructive path that left at least 230 dead in the southern United States.
In the coastal town of Punta Gorda, about 100 miles (160 km) south of Tampa, streets remained flooded Tuesday with piles up to 5 feet (1.5 meters) high of soggy furniture, clothing, books, appliances and other trash. that had been removed from damaged houses.
Many houses were empty, but accountant and art collector Scott Joiner was still on the second floor of the New Orleans-style home he built 17 years ago. Joiner said that when Helene passed and flooded the first floor of his house, there were bull sharks swimming in the flooded streets and a neighbor had to be rescued by canoe.
“Having water is a blessing,” Joiner said, “but it is very deadly.”
Joiner said he planned to make it through another round and hold off Milton there, despite the risk.
Authorities have issued evacuation orders for 11 Florida counties with a total population of 5.9 million people, according to US Census estimates.
Authorities have warned that anyone left behind should fend for themselves, as emergency workers are not expected to risk their lives attempting rescues at the height of the storm.
In Riverview, south of Tampa, several drivers waiting in a long gas line Tuesday said they had no plans to evacuate.
“I think we’ll just stay, you know, ride it out,” said Martin Oakes, of nearby Apollo Beach. “We have blinds in place. The house is ready. So this is like the last piece of the puzzle.”
Others decided not to risk it after Helene.
On Anna Marie Island, at the southern tip of Tampa Bay, Evan Purcell packed up his father’s ashes and tried to catch his 9-year-old cat, McKenzie, as he prepared to leave Tuesday. Helene had left him with thousands of dollars worth of damage when his house flooded. He feared that Milton might take what was left.
“I’m still in shock from the first one and here comes the second round,” Purcell said. “I have a bad feeling about this one.”
State and local governments were trying to clear piles of debris left behind by Helene ahead of the new storm, fearing that the new hurricane would turn the loose debris into missiles. Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state had deployed about 300 dump trucks that had picked up 1,300 loads of debris.
In Mexico, authorities in the state of Yucatán reported minor damage when Milton passed off their coast. The wind knocked down power lines, streetlights and trees, and destroyed some small structures with green roofs, said the governor of Yucatán, Joaquín Díaz. No deaths or injuries were reported.
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Spencer reported from Fort Myers Beach. Associated Press writers Curt Anderson and Kate Payne in Tampa contributed to this report; Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale; Russ Bynum in Savannah, Georgia; Seth Borenstein in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City.
