Florida [US], October 10: According to CNN citing the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Category 5 Hurricane Milton with winds of nearly 257 km/h is expected to hit Tampa Bay, Florida (USA) on the night of October 9, just nearly two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall.
The US Hurricane Prediction Center (SPC) warned that Milton would strengthen throughout the day on October 9, putting some counties and cities at risk of tornadoes. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor also warned that Milton could cause waves 4-5 meters high, submerging entire homes.
US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency in Florida, urging residents to move to safety, calling it a "matter of life and death." Biden has also postponed a trip to Germany and Angola to deal with Hurricane Milton . Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency in 51 of the state's 67 counties, predicting that Hurricane Milton could cause "very, very significant impacts." Several cities and counties in Florida have also imposed curfews on residents remaining in the area.
The Florida Department of Health issued a warning on October 9 that floodwaters from Hurricane Milton could cause life-threatening bacterial infections. US Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra also declared a public health emergency in Florida to address the potential health impacts of Hurricane Milton , marking the second such emergency in the state in the past two weeks.
According to FlightAware , 1,573 flights were canceled on October 8. In addition, as of the end of October 8, about 20% of Florida's 8,000 gas stations were out of fuel. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he had dispatched police to escort tankers delivering additional fuel to stations along the way. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) had previously stockpiled 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water at two staging points, and requested 900 staff in the area to be ready to assist people. 5,000 members of the US National Guard were deployed, along with 3,000 others on standby to respond to the consequences.
About two weeks before Milton, six southeastern states (including Florida) were hit by Hurricane Helene on September 26, killing at least 236 people. Data analytics firm CoreLogic estimates that Helene caused $30.5 billion to $47.5 billion in damage to property owners in 16 states. Search and rescue efforts there are still ongoing, and more than 100,000 people in the area were still without power as of October 8.
Source: Thanh Nien Newspaper