Florida Prepares for Major Hurricane Milton While Recovering from Helene

By Daniel Trotta and Bo Erickson

Florida is gearing up for its largest evacuation since 2017 as Hurricane Milton intensifies in the Gulf of Mexico, heading toward the state’s western coast shortly after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene.

Milton, which upgraded from a tropical storm to a hurricane on Sunday, is expected to make landfall on Wednesday as a major hurricane, likely impacting the densely populated Tampa Bay area, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center.

This new hurricane threatens regions already affected by Helene, which struck further north on September 26.

Kevin Guthrie, the director of Florida’s emergency management division, described the situation as potentially the "largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since Hurricane Irma in 2017," and strongly encouraged residents to prepare for evacuation.

As of Sunday evening, Milton was located approximately 780 miles west-southwest of Tampa, with maximum sustained winds of 85 mph and moving eastward toward Florida at 7 mph. A hurricane watch was also issued for the northern coast of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula.

While categorized as a Category 1 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson scale, it is anticipated that Milton could escalate in strength. A private forecaster suggested it could reach a Category 4 rating on its scale, potentially leading to widespread catastrophic flooding.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that Milton could bring a higher storm surge and more power outages compared to Helene, further complicating recovery efforts from the prior storm. “There are areas with significant debris, and if a major hurricane hits, that debris could exacerbate the damage dramatically,” he stated, emphasizing the need for an organized debris management response.

In Pinellas County, encompassing St. Petersburg, officials are expected to issue mandatory evacuations for over 500,000 residents in low-lying zones. Sheriff Bob Gualtieri urged residents to comply with evacuation orders after many ignored them during Helene, leading to 12 fatalities and thousands of unfulfilled emergency calls.

The county has already evacuated six hospitals, 25 nursing homes, and 44 assisted living facilities, affecting around 6,600 patients. Classes have been canceled from Monday through Wednesday.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch noted that recovery from Hurricane Helene would take years, and the impacts of Milton would only exacerbate that challenge. He pointed out the concerning proximity of Milton compared to Helene, which was significantly farther away.

North Carolina, Florida, and much of the South continue to recover from the extensive damage caused by Helene, which resulted in over 200 fatalities across six states, marking it as the deadliest storm to strike the mainland U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

President Joe Biden announced the deployment of an additional 500 active-duty troops to assist with recovery efforts in western North Carolina, raising the total deployment to 1,500 personnel.

These military resources will complement extensive state and local recovery operations, alongside 7,000 federal workers and 6,100 National Guard members. In response to the disaster, the Biden administration has approved $137 million in federal assistance, with further aid expected as economic losses are projected to reach billions.