About 6 million people across 11 Florida counties are under mandatory evacuation orders as a powerful hurricane approaches, ABC News reporter Reena Roy said from Tampa.
Authorities are racing against time to prepare for the storm’s impact. In St Petersburg, residents near construction sites have been told to relocate due to insufficient time to secure equipment such as cranes.
Ten hospitals have evacuated patients, with ambulances arriving from as far as Missouri to assist. Officials are driving through coastal areas urging residents to evacuate while they still can.
Bradenton Mayor Gene Brown issued a stark warning to those choosing to stay behind, advising them to write their names on their arms for identification. “We can replace your home. We can’t replace your life”, Brown said.
The state has mobilised thousands of National Guard troops, with 34 search and rescue aircraft on standby. Roy reported that 37,000 linemen are either already in Florida or en route to deal with anticipated power outages.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said Milton had strengthened to a category 5 hurricane with sustained winds of 165mph (270km/h) as it moved through the Gulf of Mexico towards Florida’s coast.
Experts have described Milton as “the storm of the century”.
#Milton is the fastest Atlantic hurricane to intensify from a Tropical Depression to a Category 5 Hurricane, taking just over 48 hours. This animation shows Milton as it intensified, with the heaviest rains (red) concentrated near the center. https://t.co/uXpdGH1yEd pic.twitter.com/YWwrpgQcTe
— NASA Earth (@NASAEarth) October 8, 2024
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