By Jay Waagmeester, Florida Phoenix
Two days before Hurricane Milton’s projected landfall, state officials on Monday begged Tampa Bay residents to evacuate before its major storm surge and winds hit the state’s Central Gulf Coast.
Milton increased intensity to a Category 5 storm Monday morning with sustained winds clocked at 160 mph and is expected to remain a hurricane after it traverses Central Florida and moves over the Atlantic Ocean.
“It isn’t like this is going to be something where it hits as a hurricane then ends up more of just a tropical system by the time it leaves the state; it’s going to remain a hurricane at some level all the way through exiting on the East Coast of Florida,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a news conference in Tallahassee.
The storm threatens regions of Florida still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall less than two weeks ago.
As of Monday morning, the Division of Emergency Management website posting evacuation orders included Charlotte, Citrus, Glades, Hernando, Hillsborough, Manatee, Okeechobee, Pasco, Pinellas and Sarasota counties.
“Please. If you’re in the Tampa Bay area, you need to evacuate,” said Kevin Guthrie, director of the state Division of Emergency Management.
“If they have called for your evacuation order, I beg you, I implore you, to evacuate. Drowning deaths due to storm surge are 100% preventable if you leave. We had situations where people died of drowning in Hurricane Ian. Had they just gone across the bridge from Estero Bay, Sanibel Island, and so on, just across the bridge to the first available shelter that had capacity, they’d still be alive today.”
DeSantis said that as much as eight to 12 feet of peak storm surge is expected between northern Pinellas County and Charlotte County. Fifty-one counties are under a state of emergency with the storm projected to make landfall Wednesday.
Guthrie emphasized that those with means to do so should evacuate to stay at a hotel, with friends and family, or at a local shelter, especially people dependent on power to operate medical devices.
While the governor and Guthrie have bragged about the Florida building code’s ability to handle high winds, DeSantis stressed that the code cannot protect against storm surge at the magnitudes forecast.
“You can find structures in Florida that can withstand, even if you’re in the path of the storm, that can withstand the wind,” DeSantis said. “There’s a lot of things in Florida that are built to be able to withstand major hurricane force winds, but you just can’t contend with storm surge that is 10-15 feet of storm surge.”
A storm surge watch is in effect for much of Florida’s western coast.
All state assets loaned to North Carolina and Tennessee as part of Operation Blue Ridge are back in Florida in preparation for Milton, DeSantis said.
Debris
Local and state authorities continue to remove debris left by Helene, especially in the Tampa Bay area, which saw a plurality of the storm’s deaths in Pinellas County. As of Thursday, the death count in Florida was 15, and throughout the Southeast more than 200 deaths have been counted.
Since Milton formed, the governor has emphasized the urgency of removing Helene debris before the new storm hits to prevent it from causing additional damage in fresh storm surge.
DeSantis encouraged all “hands on deck,” including private citizens, to help remove debris.
The governor’s state of emergency declaration orders debris management sites and landfills to remain open all hours of the day to speed collection efforts. Although debris collection is a local responsibility, the governor said that state crews are assisting.
In Pinellas County, state employees forced entry into a landfill that was closed overnight.
“Florida Highway Patrol basically took matters into their own hands, fastened some rope to a couple pickup trucks to the gate, and busted the gate open,” DeSantis said. “And then those trucks were able to go in and unload the debris. We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape. We have to get the job done.”
Florida Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Florida Phoenix maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Michael Moline for questions: info@floridaphoenix.com. Follow Florida Phoenix on Facebook and X.
Banner image: The National Hurricane Center’s projected path of Hurricane Milton as of 11 a.m. Monday (NOAA image).
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