OAN Staff James Meyers
9:07 AM – Monday, October 7, 2024
Floridians have been issued urgent warnings to begin the largest evacuation in almost a decade as Hurricane Milton rapidly grew to a “life threatening” Category 4 storm containing 150 mph winds Monday, placing hundreds of thousands of residents still recovering from Helene at risk.
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Meanwhile, Milton is projected to hit Wednesday as a major hurricane in the Tampa Bay area, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.
Additionally, storm surge and hurricane watches were issued for Florida’s Gulf Coast as Milton “rapidly intensified” into a Category 4 storm with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, according to the hurricane center.
Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s emergency management division, urged residents to be prepared for the “largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma.” “I highly encourage you to evacuate,” Guthrie said during a press conference.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R-Fla.) said that it’s clear the state is going to be hit hard.
“You have time to prepare … be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place,” DeSantis said Sunday.
“If you’re on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you’ll be asked to leave.”
Furthermore, the hurricane center had warned the hurricane posed “an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge from Milton for portions of the west coast of the Florida Peninsula beginning Tuesday night or early Wednesday,”
“Residents should follow any advice given by local officials and evacuate if told to do so,” the federal agency warned.
“I’m just gonna distill it down and put it in some plain speak — everybody’s just got to get out,” warned Sheriff Bob Gualtieri of Pinellas County, which includes Clearwater and St. Petersburg.
“This is going to be bad. That’s all you need to know,” he said of warnings the storm surge could top 8 feet along his county’s coastal regions.
“There’s going to reach a point where you are on your own, because we are not going to get our people killed because you don’t want to listen to what we’re saying.”
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