MILTON, Fla. (Diya TV) — Florida officials sounded urgent evacuation warnings as Hurricane Milton bore down on the Gulf Coast. Local leaders warned that residents who failed to leave could face deadly consequences.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis ordered residents in the affected zones to immediately leave, claiming that “time is running out” as he threatened that the storm would bring catastrophic winds and surges. More than 1 million have been ordered to evacuate.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor bluntly said, “If you stay, you’re going to die.”.
Milton will be a Category 4 storm and is expected to produce utmost destruction. The wind speed will be as high as 155 mph. This storm has the potential to produce a storm surge of 15 feet or more along coastal Alabama in Florida. Low lying communities will be flooded.
Emergency personnel evacuated hospitals and homes for the elderly. Utilities in the region were readied for wide area power outages as the storm was expected to linger for several days. Air travel and military bases were readied for hurricane. The U.S. Navy ordered evacuating vessels and aircraft. Destroyers cleared from Naval Station Mayport, while submarines and afloat training units began moving out of nearby Naval Station Jacksonville.
Residents are advised to complete all their preparation work by Tuesday evening in view of rapidly deteriorating weather conditions. Florida’s Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie stated, “If you don’t leave now, you may not survive the storm.”끕
As Hurricane Milton threatens the Gulf Coast, President Joe Biden declared a state of emergency, which would enable the utilization of federal resources for evacuation and recovery operations.
This is only weeks since Hurricane Helene ravaged parts of Florida. Inhabitants of Sanibel Island, Naples, and Tampa Bay, which have barely been stabilizing from the first hurricane, are preparing for the worst once again.
The government is highly urging the people of Florida to move inland to safer zones for shelter. If they do not, emergency teams will likely not be able to get to them once the storm hits the shores.
The National Guard has been activated within Florida, and rescue teams are geared up to go in afterward, but they warn that those folks in evacuation zones should not wait.
