Hurricane Milton is making its way towards Florida's Gulf Coast, with more than one million people ordered to evacuate ahead of its arrival. The storm, now a Category 4, is expected to hit near the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, which has not been in the direct path of a major hurricane in over a century. President Joe Biden has urged those in the storm's projected path to evacuate immediately, calling it a matter of life and death.
The storm surge is expected to cause catastrophic damage, with power outages predicted to last for days. The area is home to more than 9.3 million residents, many of whom are facing mandatory evacuation orders. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has activated 8,000 National Guard members and is staging supplies and equipment near the expected landfall area.
While Floridians are accustomed to storms, Tampa residents may be unprepared for a direct hit, as the area has not experienced a major hurricane in decades. The storm is forecasted to remain extremely dangerous through landfall, with storm surges of three to 4.5 meters expected along the coastline.
Milton's path from west to east is highly unusual for Gulf hurricanes, as they typically form in the Caribbean Sea and travel west before turning north. The storm's intensity and size are expected to grow before making landfall, putting hundreds of miles of coastline at risk.
Overall, the situation remains tense as residents brace for impact and emergency efforts are underway to prepare for the storm's arrival. The aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which hit the state's Gulf Coast less than two weeks ago, has left many communities in a vulnerable state as they face the potential devastation of Hurricane Milton.