Hurricane Milton explosively intensified Monday into one of the strongest hurricanes on record as it hurtles toward a highly developed stretch of Florida’s coast where residents are still recovering from Hurricane Helene. Via the Washington Post:
Counties that line the Gulf Coast ordered scores of people to leave in what is expected to be the largest evacuation in the state since at least Hurricane Irma in 2017. By the afternoon, highways were beginning to clog and long lines had formed at gas stations.
Forecasters warned where Milton will make landfall is uncertain, but there was increasing alarm that the storm will strike the Tampa Bay area, which has not suffered a direct hit from a major hurricane since 1921. The region is home to more than 3 million people and is one of the most vulnerable metropolitan areas in the United States to storm surge.
Hurricane Helene came ashore 100 miles north of Tampa Bay in late September, but still brought historic storm surge to the area. Many homes were destroyed and more than a dozen people died. Many were elderly residents who did not evacuate.
“We are still reeling from Helene,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said. “I’ve been here my entire life and that is the most damaging storm that I have ever experienced. And now we have Milton on the way.”
This looks like another disaster in the making.
