Hurricane Milton is on course to be the hardest-hitting storm Florida has faced in over 100 years, and new images from space show its terrifying intensity.
Residents in Tampa Bay and surrounding areas are fleeing in droves, with the storm expected to make landfall on Wednesday.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned that residents will die if they do not leave the area and first responders have been advised to not risk their lives to save people due to the risk involved.
“Today’s the last day to get ready,” Craig Fugate, a former FEMA director who previously ran the state’s emergency operation division, told AP. “This is bringing everything.”
Florida is still reeling from Hurricane Helene, which led to deaths and severe damage to infrastructure, with the town of Steinhatchee virtually wiped out.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis deployed over 300 dump trucks to remove 1,300 loads of debris left behind by Hurricane Helene by Tuesday afternoon.
In Clearwater Beach, which was hit by Helene, Nick Szabo spent a second long day hauling away three-foot piles of soggy mattresses, couches, and drywall after being hired by a resident who was eager to help clear the roads and unwilling to wait for overwhelmed city contractors.
“All this debris is like missiles,” he said. “It’s like a spear coming at you.”
After weakening slightly, Hurricane Milton regained strength Tuesday afternoon and became a Category 5 storm again, with winds of 165 mph.
The 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation orders are home to about 5.9 million people, according to estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau.
The hurricane centre forecasts that Hurricane Milton will cross central Florida, dumping as much as 18 inches of rain while heading toward the Atlantic Ocean.
Governor DeSantis advised residents at a news conference that they do not have to travel far for evacuation, as there will be enough gasoline available for their cars.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, commenting: “This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century.”
The Federal Emergency Management Agency has nearly 900 staff members in the region and has stocked two staging areas with 20 million meals and 40 million litres of water, according to the White House.