Evacuations and storm preparations began on Sunday night as forecasters projected that Hurricane Milton would slam into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday as a major hurricane packing life-threatening winds and storm surge.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said in a news conference Sunday evening that a “flurry” of evacuation orders would be issued over the next 24 hours.
He encouraged residents on the southwest part of the west coast to leave ahead of the mandatory orders.
“Do not make inferences that somehow you’re going to be in the clear,” he said. “The entire peninsula, the entire west coast, has the potential to have major, major impact because of the storm surge.”
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday.
Forecasters predict heavy rain could bring flash flooding and life-threatening storm surges. Milton could also pack winds of more than 100 miles per hour if the hurricane strengthens to a category 3 or higher.
Counties began evacuating vulnerable residents Sunday evening.
Several long-term care facilities, assisted-living facilities and hospitals in Pinellas County were under mandatory evacuation orders on Sunday. The order covered six hospitals, 25 nursing homes and 44 assisted-living facilities, affecting about 6,600 patients, according to the county.
County officials encouraged other residents in low-lying areas also to leave.
Residents in Pasco County and Manatee County were told mandatory evacuation orders would go into effect on Monday. Other coastal counties announced on Sunday that they would start evacuating residents throughout the day on Monday.
Schools and local government offices across Florida announced closures starting Monday and lasting through Thursday. Some college campuses also said they would be closed for several days this week.
Several counties opened sandbag sites on Sunday, some of which will be running around the clock.
A little over a week after Hurricane Helene battered the Gulf Coast of Florida, municipalities and residents were still cleaning up debris when forecasters announced that Milton had strengthened into a hurricane on Sunday.
Mr. DeSantis called on state and local authorities to make debris removal a 24/7 mission ahead of Milton’s landfall, which he warned could be worse for some Floridians.
“If you saw significant storm surge the last storm, you could have that, and then some, this storm,” he said on Sunday. “It is possible that it will exceed what you saw with Hurricane Helene.”
The governor said residents could potentially experience more power outages than there were from Helene, which at its peak left more two million residents without power.
He added that it may be “challenging” for restoration crews to get to Florida since many were deployed in other communities still reeling from Helene.
Duke Energy Florida warned that customers should prepare for Milton to cause extended and widespread power failures.
The company is placing crews in areas that will likely be affected so they can respond quickly. However, the powerful winds and storm surge could prevent workers from restoring power safely.
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