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Hurricane Milton has rapidly intensified to a Category 5 hurricane with winds reaching 160mph, as the potential “once in a lifetime” storm charts its path towards the already storm-battered Florida coast.
Milton is situated in the Southern Gulf of Mexico and is moving “erratically” northwest where it is expected to hit the heavily-populated Tampa Bay area by Wednesday.
The Pinellas County Sheriff issued a warning ahead of the storm’s prospective landfall, with Floridians asked to brace for what could be the largest evacuation since 2017’s Hurricane Irma.
“This is going to be bad. That’s all you need to know,” Sheriff Bob Gualtieri said during an emergency conference on Sunday. “Everyone just needs to get out.”
Milton is racing towards areas already devastated by Hurricane Helene, which struck northern Florida on 26 September and caused more than 220 deaths across the Southeast.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned the storm surge and power outages could exceed those caused by Helene, especially given the leftover debris. “There are some areas with a lot of debris… if hit by a major hurricane, it’s going to dramatically increase damage,” he said.
President Joe Biden is due to be briefed this afternoon.
Watch: Debris from Hurricane Helene could pose danger upon Milton’s landfall
WH Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on DeSantis dodging calls from Harris: ‘It’s up to him if he wants to respond to us or not’
“It’s up to him if he wants to respond to us or not,” she said. “But what we’re doing is we’re working with state and local officials to make sure we are ready to there for the communities that are going to be impacted. We are doing the job.”
Florida residents fill sandbags as Hurricane Milton approaches
Vice President Harris says she’s been briefed on Milton
Marco Rubio says NHC showed him ‘worst case’ Florida hurricane that was ‘almost identical to the Milton forecast’
Milton’s windspeed increase 90mph in under 24 hrs
Hurricane Milton’s wind speeds have increased by 90 mph in less than 24 hours, according to data from the National Hurricane Center.
It makes it the Atlantics third fastest rapidly-intensifying storm on record, according to more than four decades of the NHC’s data.
“Rapid intensification” demands that a storm’s wind speeds increase 35mph in 24 hours – with Milton almost tripling that.
‘Food, water, fuel, medical supplies and Starlinks’ dispersed across Florida
Biden approves Florida emergency declaration
President Biden said he approved an emergency declaration from Florida on Monday.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis: Nearly 9K cubic yards of debris removed from barrier islands before Milton
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said Monday that officials and vendors must continue to clear debris from Hurricane Helene before Hurricane Milton makes landfall as soon as Wednesday night.
Thus far, he said, nearly 9,000 cubic yards have been removed from the barrier island of Pinellas County. The work would continue as long as it was safe to do so and local landfill and dump sites are required to remain open 24 hours a day to dispose of the debris.
“The state of Florida has marshaled unprecedented resources to help with debris removal. The Division of Emergency Management, Florida Department of Transportation, Florida National Guard, Florida State Guard, and the Florida Highway Patrol have been activated and deployed to aid in this mission,” DeSantis said.
Joe and Jill Biden give joint address to Helene survivors: ‘Your nation has your back’
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden gave a joint address on Good Morning America pledging their support to those impacted by Hurricane Helene.
“To the people of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida,” Joe Biden says, before the first lady continues: “and Tennessee, Virginia and Alabama. Your nation has your back.”
Biden adds: “Moments like this, there are no red or blue states.”
“No matter how you vote, we help each other when disaster strikes. Because we are one United States of America,” Jill continues.
The president said that Federal Emergency Management Agency staff are knocking on doors of those impacted and offering financial aid.
“FEMA is knocking on doors, to sign up survivors in direct need of financial aid as many of them need it now. “I’ve directed my team to stay there 24/7 with you until this job is done.”
“There’s nothing we can’t do if we do it together, and we’re going to do it together. God bless you all,” Biden signed off.
Source: independent.co.uk
