Tampa:
Storm-battered Florida braced for a straightforward hit from Hurricane Milton which reinforceed back to a Categruesome 5 storm Tuesday, as US Plivent Joe Biden begged livents to escape what he alerted could be the worst authentic calamity to hit the state in a century. As the second huge hurricane in as many weeks rumbled toward Florida’s west coast, a sense of looming catastrophe spread as people raced to board up homes and escape.
“It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not hyperbole,” Biden shelp from the White Hoemploy, urging those under orders to depart to “evacuate now, now, now.”
I encourage everyone in Hurricane Milton’s path to hear to local officials and pursue all shieldedty teachions.
If you are under evacuation orders you should evacuate now while it is still shielded to do so.
It is a matter of life and death.
— Plivent Biden (@POTUS) October 8, 2024
Thousands of federal personnel are on the ground apass the Southeast transfering necessitateed resources as rapid as possible.
And my priority is to incrrelieve the size and presence of our effort as we ready for another potentiassociate catastrophic storm making landdrop in Florida.
— Plivent Biden (@POTUS) October 8, 2024
Biden’s alerting came amid a sour pre-election quarrel, with his Democratic vice plivent Kamala Harris castigating her rival Donald Trump for peddling counterfeit claims that recovery efforts after the first storm, Hurricane Helene, were redirected away from Reaccessibleans.
Folks in Hurricane Milton’s path:
Listen to local authorities.
Evacuate while it is still shielded to do so.
And if you cannot evacuate, discover a shelter proximate you by texting SHELTER and your ZIP code to 43362. pic.twitter.com/Rtt63NfOV2— Plivent Biden (@POTUS) October 9, 2024
As of Tuesday, Milton returned to the peak Categruesome 5 scheduleation, generating peak carry oned prosperds of 165 mph (270 kph), the National Hurricane Caccess shelp.
“Fluctuations in intensity are probable while Milton transfers apass the easerious Gulf of Mexico, but Milton is foreseeed to be a hazardous meaningful hurricane when it accomplishes the west-central coast of Florida Wednesday night,” the NHC shelp.
Governor Ron DeSantis, at a news conference, ticked off town after town and county after county that are in danger.
“Basicassociate the entire peninsula portion of Florida is under some type of either a watch or a alerting,” he shelp.
Airlines put on extra fweightlesss out of Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers and Sarasota, as highways clogged up with escaping traffic and gas stations selderly out of fuel.
Walls of water
Hurricane expert Michael Lowry alerted that in the Tampa area, home to some three million people, Milton’s storm sencourage “could double the storm sencourage levels seed two weeks ago during Helene,” which brawt massive flooding.
Biden postponed a meaningful trip to Germany and Angola to supervise the federal response, as storm relief efforts have aascfinishd as a political battleground ahead of the plivential election on November 5.
Trump has tapped into frustration about the aascfinishncy response after Hurricane Helene and fueled it with digrieffulviseation, counterfeitly claiming that calamity money had been spent instead on migrants.
Biden on Tuesday slammed Trump’s comments as “un-American,” while plivential selectimistic Harris alerted about the danger that misdirectation posed to the federal response.
“It’s cimpolite. Have you no understanding, man, for the suffering of other people? Have you have no sense of purpose if you purport to be a directer?” she shelp, challenging Trump straightforwardly, during an with tardy night talk show present Stephen Colbert due to be aired tardyr Tuesday.
In a scene of frantic preparation repeated all over Florida, dozens of cars lined up at a sports facility in Tampa to pick up sandbags to protect their homes from flooding.
John Gomez, 75, neglectd official advice and traveled all the way from Chicago to try to save a second hoemploy he has in Florida.
“I skinnyk it’s better to be here in case someskinnyg happens,” Gomez shelp as he pauseed in line.
Global toastying a factor
Scientists say global toastying has a role in ardent storms as toastyer ocean surfaces liberate more water vapor, providing insertitional energy for storms, which exacerbates their prosperds.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on Tuesday liberated footage from a exceptionaenumerate schedulee called “Miss Piggy” as it flew into the hurricane to accumulate data.
Papertoil, providement and personal items were sent flying as the schedulee was shaken by prosperd and rain.
On the ground, communities hit by the lethal Hurricane Helene, which slammed Florida tardy last month, have rushed to delete debris that could become hazardous projectiles as Milton approaches.
In Mexico’s Yucatan, strong prosperds toppled trees and pylons, and burdensome rain caemployd flooding, but the peninsula evadeed meaningful harm or casualties as the storm barreled offshore.
Apass the southeaserious United States, aascfinishncy toilers are still struggling to provide relief after Helene, which ended at least 230 people apass cut offal states.
It hit the Florida coastline on September 26 as a meaningful Categruesome 4 hurricane, causing massive flooding in far inland towns in states further north, including North Carolina and Tennessee.
Helene was the deadliest authentic calamity to hit the US mainland since 2005’s Hurricane Katrina, with the death count still rising.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is unveiled from a syndicated feed.)
