Hurricane Milton live updates: Tampa mayor warns Category 4 storm could turn Florida houses into ‘coffins’
Hurricane Milton weakens to Category 4 but poses ‘even more danger’ as it continues to grow in size ahead of Wednesday’s projected landfall
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents Tuesday that “time is running out” for them to evacuate.
“You may have a window where it may be safe, but you may not,” he said. “So, use today as your day to finalize and execute the plan that is going to protect you and your family.”
His warning comes after Tampa mayor Jane Castor told CNN on Monday that residents will die if they don’t evacuate as Hurricane Milton races towards the state’s west coast.
Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of the Sunshine State almost two weeks ago, was a “wake-up call,” she said. Milton could be “literally catastrophic,” Castor added.
The potential “once in a lifetime” storm rapidly intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday with sustained winds surpassing 180mph, before slowing to Category 4 on Tuesday.
The National Hurricane Center has warned that Milton may regain strength and grow in size, posing “even more danger” as it is expected to make landfall in Florida by Wednesday evening, slamming into the densely populated Tampa Bay.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration on Monday after pledging “life-saving resources in advance of the storm,” the day prior.
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If you stay you will die, says Tampa mayor
The mayor of Tampa has issued a stark warning to residents, saying that if you remain in an evacuation zone "you will die".
That's according to Spectrum News producer John Park, and it's just one of many incredibly blunt assessments of Hurricane Milton we're now hearing from officials and experts.
"This is nothing short of astronomical. I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe to you the storm's small eye and intensity," said local weatherman Noah Bergren.
He said the eye of the hurricane was "tiny" at merely 3.8 miles wide, and that the storm was "nearing the mathematical limit of what Earth's atmosphere over this ocean water can produce".
Milton may be worst storm to hit Tampa area in over a century
Sarasota County will begin shutting off water services Tuesday morning
At 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, Sarasota County Public Utilities will begin shutting off potable water services and lift stations for wastewater services to customers on Siesta Key and Casey Key.
“This precautionary measure protects the community’s infrastructure, which may be inundated by storm surge and high winds,” the county said on Facebook. “Sarasota County Public Utilities team members are prepared to deploy when conditions are safe and restore water services to those who are impacted. As a reminder, when potable water services return, these areas will be under a boil water notice.”
Time lapse shows lightning flashing within the hurricane
Here is stunning time lapse of lightning flashing within the swirling mass of Hurricane Milton, courtesy of Colorado State University’s CIRA weather research institute.
Harris says DeSantis is being ‘selfish’ after reports the governor is ignoring her calls ahead of Milton
“Playing political games at this moment … It’s utterly irresponsible and it is selfish and it is about political gamesmanship instead of doing the job that you took an oath to do,” Vice President Kamala Harris said, speaking from Joint Base Andrews.
Air pressure drop makes Milton the fifth most intense Atlantic hurricane ever
Air pressure in the eye of Hurricane Milton has fallen to a near record low of 897 millibars, the National Hurricane Center has said.
The agency said on X (formerly Twitter) about 20 minutes ago that the storm "poses an extremely serious threat" to Florida residents.
According to New Zealand meteorologist Ben Noll, that makes Milton the fifth most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, stronger than 2005's devastating Hurricane Katrina at its peak.
It is only the sixth ever Atlantic hurricane on record to register a central pressure of below 900 millibars, he added.
(”hPa” in Noll’s tweet stands for hectopascals, an equivalent unit of measurement to the millibar.)
Harris hits ‘misinformation’ pushed by President Trump amid Helene, Milton response: It’s ‘extraordinarily irresponsible'
“There’s a lot of mis- and disinformation being pushed out there by the former president about what is available, in particular, to the survivors of Helene ... It’s extraordinarily irresponsible,” Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday, speaking from Joint Base Andrews. “It’s about him. It’s not about you. And, the reality is that FEMA has so many resources that are available to folks who desperately need them.”
Social media videos, images show Floridians fleeing areas forecast to be impacted by Milton
St. Petersburg officials warn storm surge from Milton could be greater than Helene’s
In St. Petersburg, officials warned residents flooding could be twice as great as during Hurricane Helene.
“Our community now faces an ever more daunting challenge,” Mayor Ken Welch said. “This is a powerful storm. More powerful than Helene with more potential storm surge.”
With reporting from The Associated Press
As Milton takes aim at Florida, why is Tampa Bay so vulnerable to hurricanes?
In 1921, the last time the eye of a major storm like Hurricane Milton struck Tampa Bay, the city was only home to a few hundred thousand Floridians.
Now, it’s one of the fastest-growing cities in the US, with 3 million residents.
As Category 5 Milton storms toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, Tampa’s future comes into question.
The Associated Press has the latest: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/tampa-bay-ap-florida-national-hurricane-center-gulf-coast-b2625396.html
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