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Hurricane Milton hurled rain, tornadoes and tropical storm force winds toward the U.S. coast on Wednesday, as time ran out for residents to evacuate from the storm’s potentially catastrophic path toward Florida.
The U.S. National Hurricane Center stressed that it was unsure where the center of Milton would make landfall Wednesday evening because the storm’s path could “wobble,” but that the entire Tampa Bay region and points south were in serious danger walked. Tropical storm force winds began blowing along the coast Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier, officials issued dire warnings to flee or face grim odds of survival.
“This is it, folks,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. “Those of you who took a hit during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You have to get out, and you have to get out now.’
By late afternoon, some officials said the time for such efforts had passed.
- Are you a Canadian living in Florida? Or do you have real estate there? Tell us what your concerns are in an email to ask@cbc.ca
“Unless you really have a good reason to leave at this time, we recommend that you just sit down,” Paul Womble, director of Polk County Emergency Management, said in a public update.
Similarly, Pasco County officials told residents it was “time to weather the storm where you are” and to expect emergency responders not to be able to respond to calls for several hours during the storm.
Milton, which fluctuated in intensity as it approached Florida, was a Category 3 hurricane as of Wednesday afternoon. It was expected to remain a hurricane after hitting land through Thursday, sweeping across the state, including the densely populated area around Orlando plowed.
Located at the top of a long coastline that could be a bull’s-eye, Tampa Bay hasn’t taken a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century.
Residents shouldn’t feel relief over indications that Milton could make landfall south of Tampa, Perkins said: “Everyone in Tampa Bay should assume we’re going to be ground zero.”
“That doesn’t mean it couldn’t happen,” said Luisa Meshekoff, who nevertheless stayed with her partner and eight cats in their home, a brick warehouse in a mandatory evacuation zone in Tampa’s Channel District. The couple considered leaving, but felt taking the cats to a shelter wasn’t an option, and they worried that getting stuck on the road could be dangerous.
“I think if you have water and batteries, everything is fine,” Meshekoff said. “I might be singing a different tune at two in the morning.”
Milton threatened communities still reeling two weeks after Hurricane Helene flooded streets and homes in West Florida, killing at least 230 people in the South. In many places along the coast, municipalities rushed to collect and remove debris before Milton’s winds and storm surge could blow it around and cause any damage.
As the storm weakened but grew larger, the wave was expected to reach heights of 12 feet (3.6 meters) in Tampa Bay and up to 14 feet (4 meters) further south between Sarasota, Florida, and Fort Myers, Florida.
‘People need to go to their safe place’
Mary Ann Fairman, 84, was one of about 1,000 people at a shelter in West Bradenton. She stayed home during Helene, but packed blankets, snacks and toiletries and left this time. “The Gulf is practically in our backyard,” she said.
In Pasco County, home to more than half a million people in bedroom communities in Tampa and St. Petersburg, officials said shortly before noon they were preparing to take buses off the road.
NASA released new video recorded from the International Space Station showing Hurricane Milton as it swirled toward Florida on Wednesday. Astronaut Matthew Dominick posted the video to social media, saying the storm appeared larger but less symmetrical than a day earlier.
“This is your last chance if you need to go to a shelter,” they said in a statement. “Then you must find a way to shelter or be prepared to weather the storm.” The famed Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which spans the mouth of Tampa Bay, was closed around noon. Other major bridges are also closed.
“Yesterday I said the clock was ticking. Today I say the alarm bells are really ringing. People need to get to their safe places,” said Ken Graham, director of the National Weather Service.
At a news conference in Tallahassee, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis described the deployment of a wide range of resources, including 9,000 National Guard members from Florida and other states; more than 50,000 power line workers from as far away as California; and highway patrol cars with sirens to escort gasoline tankers to replenish supplies so people could fill their tanks before evacuating.
“Unfortunately, there will be fatalities. I don’t think there’s a solution to that,” DeSantis said.
Milton was about 60 miles (100 kilometers) west-southwest of Sarasota on Wednesday evening and had maximum sustained winds of 120 mph (195 km/h), the hurricane center reported. It was moving northeast at a speed of 18 mph.
Heavy rains and tornadoes ravaged parts of South Florida beginning Wednesday morning, with conditions worsening. Far inland, six to 12 inches of rain were expected, with as much as 16 inches in some places, bringing the risk of catastrophic flooding.
One tornado touched down in the sparsely populated Everglades Wednesday morning and crossed Interstate 75. Another apparent tornado touched down in Fort Myers, snapping tree limbs and ripping the canopy of a gas station to shreds.
Authorities have issued mandatory evacuation orders in 15 Florida counties, with a total population of about 7.2 million people. Officials warned that anyone left behind should fend for themselves because first responders were not expected to risk their lives in rescue efforts at the height of the storm.
Matthew and Allison Davis of St. Petersburg, Florida, are among the many Tampa Bay area residents under mandatory evacuation orders ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton. The couple, who are beekeepers, say they have taken steps to protect their hives and are hoping for the best after losing millions of bees in the last big storm, Helene.
‘A long road ahead of us’
St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch told residents to expect extended power outages and the possible closure of the sewer system.
In Charlotte Harbor, Florida, about 100 miles south of Tampa, clouds and gusty winds swirled as Josh Parks packed his Kia sedan with clothes and other belongings. Two weeks ago, Helene’s wave brought about 5 feet of water to the neighborhood, and the streets are still filled with waterlogged furniture, torn drywall and other debris.
Parks, an automotive technician, planned to flee inland to his daughter’s home and said his roommate had already left.
“I told her to pack like you’re not coming back,” he said.
By early afternoon, airlines had canceled about 1,900 flights. SeaWorld was closed all day Wednesday and Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando closed in the afternoon.
Millions of Floridians are still reeling from Hurricane Helene and are now preparing for the worst as Hurricane Milton barrels toward the state. Andrew Chang explains why Milton will be one of the worst storms to hit Florida in a century.
Air Canada previously told CBC News that about 20 return flights to affected areas in Florida have been canceled so far. Travelers are advised to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport.
The airline said it had made nearly 900 additional seats available to Orlando and Tampa before the storm’s arrival, and had formalized a plan to add more than 1,100 seats after the storm.
“This is an evolving situation and our plans may change depending on the course of the storm, airport availability and other factors,” the airline said in a statement.
Mayor Ken Welch of St. Petersburg, Florida, says that while his city has invested in adapting to climate change, the effects of a warmer world are showing up sooner than expected, meaning higher seawalls and stronger infrastructure need to be built.
In the Gulfport area of the Tampa Bay area, Christian Burke and his mother stayed in their three-story concrete house overlooking the bay. Burke said his father designed this house with a Category 5 in mind – and now they’re going to test it.
As a passing police vehicle encouraged evacuations, Burke acknowledged that staying put isn’t a good idea, but said he’s “not laughing one bit about this storm” — he just believes the house his father built will withstand it.
About 1,700 people hunkered down at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, including Trokon Nagbe and his husband, Morris Kulp. They slept on the floor because they had not brought their own beds.
“It’s not the Hilton or the Marriott,” Kulp said, “but it’s certainly appreciated.”
The current one19:09Floridians flee second monster storm in weeks
Hurricane Milton hits Florida just weeks after the devastation of Hurricane Helene. Jaina Thatch has already been evacuated. She says it is unimaginable to have to brave two monster storms in a row. She just hopes that she will have a home to return to.
