Hurricane Milton approaches Fort Myers and Tampa in Florida

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Hurricane Milton approached Florida’s west coast with strong winds on Wednesday, leaving residents just a few hours to evacuate or take shelter before a potentially deadly storm surge and deluge hit a region already battered by the storm. Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.

Millions of people along a stretch of more than 300 miles of coastline were under evacuation orders, and Authorities issued increasingly serious warnings as the storm approached, causing violent tornadoes in different areas of Florida as it approached.

Michael Tylenda, who was visiting his son in Tampa, said he was following authorities’ advice to evacuate. “If anyone knows anything about Florida, when you don’t evacuate when ordered, you can die,” he said. “The house can be replaced. Things can be replaced. It’s better to get out of town.”

Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi told CNN that people who remain on the barrier islands in her county, just south of Tampa, likely will not survive the expected 10- to 14-foot storm surge. “If you decide to stay, make sure you have a life preserver on hand,” he said.

The storm was headed toward the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, home to more than 3 million people, although forecasters said the track could change before it makes landfall late Wednesday.

At 3 in the afternoon Chilean time, The eye of the storm was 210 kilometers west of Fort Myers and 240 kilometers southwest of Tampa. The storm weakened somewhat Wednesday morning to Category 4, the second highest level, but remained “an extremely dangerous hurricane” with maximum sustained winds of 150 mph, saccording to the National Hurricane Center.

Milton is expected to maintain its hurricane strength as it crosses the Florida peninsula, which would pose a storm threat also on the state’s Atlantic coast. Although wind speeds may continue to decrease, the size of the storm was increasing, endangering more coastal areas.

President Joe Biden spoke with leaders in Clearwater and Pinellas County on Tuesday evening, the White House said, adding that he would be briefed alongside Vice President Kamala Harris and make statements later in the day.

“There is a strong consensus that this hurricane will hit very, very hard and cause a lot of damage,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a morning briefing.

He said trucks have been running 24 hours a day to clear the piles of debris left behind by Helene before Milton potentially turns them into dangerous projectiles.

Large Florida theme parks, including Disney , Universal Studios and SeaWorld, were scheduled to close late Wednesday.

Mobile homes, nursing homes and homes for people in need of assistance had to be evacuated.

Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), said she will travel to Florida during the day and remain there after the storm to help coordinate recovery efforts.

FEMA has moved millions of liters of water, millions of food rations and other supplies and personnel to the area. The additional aid will not affect recovery efforts following Hurricane Helene. “I want people to hear directly from me that FEMA is prepared,” he said.

About 2.8% of U.S. gross domestic product is in Milton’s direct path, said Ryan Sweet of Oxford Economics. Airlines and energy companies were among companies that began halting operations in Florida as they prepared for disruption.

Heavy auto traffic clogged highways out of Tampa on Tuesday, while about 17% of Florida’s nearly 8,000 gas stations were out of fuel, according to fuel market tracker GasBuddy.

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