Florida braces for Hurricane Milton landfall and ‘catastrophic' storm surge
- by NECN
- Oct 09, 2024
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Florida highway trooper rescues dog tied to fence as Hurricane Milton approaches
In St. Petersburg, Ariel Dalmau rode out Hurricane Helene but was evacuating for Milton. Dalmau told NBC affiliate WFLA in Tampa that he doesn’t want to be here to see what damage the debris does from not being picked up.
“All this garbage out here [is] going to be like a weapon for this hurricane,” Dalmau said.
The storm landed on the Mexican Caribbean coast on Tuesday, bringing strong winds that knocked down trees and disrupted power lines across Quintana Roo.
Mexican officials said no fatalities have been reported, only minor damages such as waterlogged roads, fallen trees, and power outages.
Hurricane Milton spared Mexico's Quintana Roo as it takes aim at Florida's battered Gulf Coast.
One problem for Florida's western coastline is the region's topography. The state's coastline along the Gulf of Mexico isn’t very deep, and it features a gentle underwater slope, allowing Milton to more easily push water up the continental shelf, Cody Fritz, the Storm Surge Unit Team Lead at the National Hurricane Center told NBC News.
President Joe Biden, who postponed an overseas trip so he could remain at the White House to monitor Milton, spoke from Washington Wednesday afternoon and warned that it could be one of the most destructive hurricanes to hit Florida in more than a century.
In conversations earlier today, the heads of the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center warned of the hurricane's devastating potential, he said.
President Biden addressed the nation on Wednesday hours before Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in Florida.
"No one should be confused," he said. “Milton still carries incredible destructiveness that can wipe out communities."
Biden has approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilized to help in one of the largest mobilizations of federal personnel in history, The Associated Press reported.
“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said during a news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time."
In the Tampa Bay area's Gulfport, Christian Burke and his mother stayed put in their three-story concrete home overlooking the bay. Burke said his father designed this home with a Category 5 in mind — and now they’re going to test it.
As a passing police vehicle blared encouragement to evacuate, Burke acknowledged staying isn’t a good idea but said he’s “not laughing at this storm one bit” — he just believes the house his father built will withstand it.
Some 1,700 people hunkered down at Gibbs High School in St. Petersburg, including Trokon Nagbe and his husband, Morris Kulp. They slept on the floor because they didn't bring their own cots.
"It’s not the Hilton or the Marriott,” Kulp said, “but it sure is appreciated.”
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