Hurricane Milton was upgraded to a Category 5 again as it barrelled towards Florida’s Gulf coast.
Although the storm is forecast to weaken as it approaches land, officials in the US are still expecting it to be a Category 3 storm and highly destructive when it makes landfall on Wednesday night (Thursday early morning UAE time).
Having grown from a Category 1 classification to Category 5 within 24 hours on Monday, Milton could be the worst storm to hit the Tampa area in over 100 years. It is one of only 40 hurricanes to have escalated to a Category 5 level in the Atlantic.
4pm CDT Oct 8th Key Messages for #Hurricane #Milton which has become a Category 5 hurricane again:
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 8, 2024
Large area of destructive storm surge expected along portion of west-central coast of #Florida Peninsula. If you are in a Storm Surge Warning area, please evacuate if told by local… pic.twitter.com/JRNnFfKLu5
Riding on the tail of Hurricane Helene, which caused widespread destruction in Florida, Milton’s sustained wind speed had reached 180 miles per hour (288 kilometers per hour) at one point and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said “Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida”.
The storm’s maximum sustained wind speeds of 180 mph at the time was getting close to the all-time recorded high of 190 mph of the 1980 hurricane Allen.
President Biden declared a state of emergency in Florida after Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) described Milton as the third-fastest-growing storm on record in the Atlantic after Wilma in 2005 and Felix in 2007.
The Tampa Bay area, which is in the direct path of the storm’s eye, has been evacuated. Record storm surge is expected along the width of the Florida peninsula.
On Wednesday morning, at 2 AM, Milton was located 360 miles (575 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, moving northeast at 12 mph. According to the National Hurricane Center, it still had a wind speed of 160mph.
Thousands of residents have evacuated the Tampa Bay area, especially after Monday’s press conference, during which Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Kevin Guthrie, Florida’s director of emergency management, urged them to move out urgently.
Guthrie said: “I beg you. I implore you. Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100 per cent preventable if you leave.”
All schools and universities in Florida have shuttered and suspended classes until at least Thursday.
As residents drive out of the area in masses, there are reports that almost one-fourth of gas stations in Florida have run out of fuel and that Florida Highway Patrol troopers are escorting tankers carrying fuel to stations along evacuation routes.
The Storm Prediction Center (SPC) also warned that Hurricane Milton could bring several tornadoes – rated EF 2 or higher – to the region. Hurricane Helene spawned more than 30 tornadoes in the Southeast.
Biggest hurricanes in the Atlantic
The deadliest hurricane to have hit the US is believed to be the 1900 Galveston hurricane in Texas, which killed at least 8,000 people and destroyed thousands of buildings. Hurricane Maria, in 2017, slammed into Puerto Rico and killed more than 3,000 people, while Hurricane Katrina caused widespread damage in the New Orleans area and killed more than 1,300 in 2005.
Follow us on
