Just a few weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall in the state as a category 4 hurricane, Florida is preparing for another destructive storm as Hurricane Milton makes its way toward the Florida coast.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Hurricane Milton, a category 4 hurricane, had maximum sustained winds of 155 miles per hour, and was about 520 miles southwest of Tampa, Florida, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOOA) latest update. The storm’s center is likely to make landfall along the west-central coast of Florida on Wednesday night, near the Tampa Bay area, and move east-northeastward across central Florida through Thursday, the update said.
Tampa Bay, which has a population of more than 3.3 million people, hasn’t been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921.
The National Hurricane Center downgraded Milton early Tuesday to a Category 4 hurricane, but forecasters said it still posed “ an extremely serious threat to Florida.” Milton intensified quickly Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm for a time.
Officials in Florida are attempting to hastily remove debris still scattered after Hurricane Helene, in fear that it could act as projectiles in the strong winds, causing further damage, the Associated Press reports.
The county that’s home to Tampa ordered areas adjacent to the bay and all mobile and manufactured homes to be evacuated by Tuesday night. The 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation orders are home to about 5.9 million people, according to county-level population estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau. The Florida Division of Emergency Management (FDEM) is coordinating the deployment of fuel and EV chargers to pre-stage along evacuation routes to support evacuations, according to an update from Governor Ron DeSantis.
Earlier this week, Florida Power & Light (FPL) activated its emergency response plan, urging customers to prepare for potential extended outages. FPL said it has been strategically pre-positioning its restoration workforce, and securing additional restoration personnel from other utilities and contracting companies from as far away as the western U.S.
Duke Energy Florida recently increased its Milton response resource count to from 10,000 to 16,000, and also said customers should be prepared for extended outages. Duke’s 16,000 personnel, including power line technicians, vegetation workers, damage assessors and support personnel, are located at staging sites positioned along the outside of Hurricane Milton’s projected path, but as close to the impacted areas as possible, it said
“Hurricane Milton’s intensity is expected to be unlike anything the Tampa Bay area has ever experienced before,” said Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director. “Duke Energy Florida is preparing to respond accordingly – with an army of resources at the ready – and we strongly advise our customers to use this time to protect their homes and businesses, while helping ensure their family members, friends and neighbors are safe.”
Lee County Electric Coop (LCEC), which serves around 250,000 customers in Florida, said it has been pre-staging crews and equipment, including lineworkers, tree-trimming crews, and specialized vehicles. LCEC said it is in regular contact with partner utilities, local and state government agencies, and has already staged additional crews from out of state with more on the way if needed after the storm.
This article contains reporting from the Associated Press.
