Author: Terry Spencer and Haven Daly
TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Hurricane Milton weakened slightly Tuesday but remained a violent storm that could deliver a once-in-a-century direct hit to the densely populated Tampa Bay area, bringing towering of storm surge, and has the ability to reduce the ruins caused by Helen's destruction to ashes.
Much of Florida's west coast is under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as the system and its 150 mph (240 kph) winds spin near Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, crawl toward the coast and draw in the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico Absorb energy from it. Hurricane warnings were expanded to parts of Florida's east coast early Tuesday as the storm was expected to remain quite strong as it moved through Florida.
The center in Milton could make landfall Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, which has a population of more than 3.3 million. The county where Tampa is located ordered the area near the bay and all mobile homes and manufactured homes to be evacuated by Tuesday night.
“You don't have to get on the interstate and go a long way,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a news conference, assuring residents there would be enough gasoline to power their cars for the trip. fuel. “You can evacuate dozens of miles. You don't have to evacuate hundreds of miles. You do have a choice.
Several drivers waiting in line to get gas in Riverview Tuesday morning said they had no plans to evacuate.
“I think we're going to hold on, you know – hang on,” said Martin Oakes of Apollo Beach. “We have the shutters up. The house is ready. So this is the last piece of the puzzle.
Ralph Douglas of Ruskin said he, too, will stay put, in part because he worries about running out of gas or getting clogged with debris on his way back after the storm.
“I'm in a position where I don't think I need to evacuate,” he said.
DeSantis said the state had been working to clear debris from Hurricane Helene before Milton hit to avoid the risk of flying debris. He said the state has deployed more than 300 dump trucks and has removed 1,200 loads of garbage and continues to work around the clock.
Garbage trucks drove down a mostly deserted street in normally bustling Indian Rocks Beach just after dawn Tuesday, collecting piles of trash. Sheriff's deputies used loudspeakers to urge the remaining people to flee as quickly as possible. At Clearwater Beach, a fleet of backhoes and dump trucks began work around 6:30 a.m., removing piles of waterlogged couches, mattresses and appliances.
Nick Szabo said he was hired to help clear the road. His team removed about 260 tons of debris on Monday and planned to continue working throughout the day on Tuesday. Anything left behind will “come at you like a spear,” he said.
“It feels good to be able to help,” Szabo said.
The National Hurricane Center downgraded Milton to a Category 4 hurricane earlier Tuesday, but forecasters said it still “posed an extremely severe threat to Florida.” Milton rapidly intensified on Monday, becoming a Category 5 storm at one point.
Forecasters warned that water in Tampa Bay could surge to 15 feet, leading to evacuation orders for coastal beach communities. In Florida, that means anyone left behind is on their own, with first responders not risking their lives to rescue them at the height of the storm.
DeSantis said the state has helped evacuate more than 200 medical facilities along Milton's roads and more than 30 county-operated shelters are open.
At the Tampa airport, John Fedor and his wife were trying to catch a cab to a shelter after missing multiple flights to Philadelphia. They had hoped a Caribbean cruise would bring them closer together, but tensions escalated when travel delays cost them nearly $1,000 in unplanned transportation and hotel rooms. After walking two miles to the airport, Fedor's suitcase cracked and its wheels broke.
“We thought about driving home, taking the train home, but nothing came of it,” John Fedor said. “We're kind of stuck here.”
Milton was expected to move across central Florida and bring up to 18 inches (46 centimeters) of rain as it headed toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to the hurricane center. The road would largely avoid other states hit by Helen, which killed at least 230 people on its way from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.
Tampa Bay hasn't been directly hit by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities worry its luck is running out.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida and the White House announced Tuesday that he would postpone a trip to Germany and Angola to monitor Milton “given the expected track and intensity of the storm.” U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers are assisting in one of the largest such mobilizations in history.
“I need people to listen to their local officials to avoid getting hurt,” said Deanne Criswell, administrator of the Federal Emergency Management Agency. “People don't need to go far. They just need to move inland.
Laggards are a problem during 2022 Helen and Ian. But there was evidence Monday that people were heeding warnings and leaving before Milton arrived.
Traffic backed up the southbound lanes for miles as vehicles headed north on Interstate 75 while other residents headed to relative safety on the other side of the state, though nearly all of Florida was expected to be affected by Milton.
The National Hurricane Center on Tuesday expanded a storm surge warning south of Florida's east coast to Port Canaveral and issued a tropical storm watch for the far northwest Bahamas.
Fort Myers Beach, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Tampa, has become almost a ghost town. Two years ago, Ian's 15-foot (4.5-meter) storm surge devastated entire communities. Fourteen people died there. On Monday, the few remaining residents scrambled to protect buildings and property. No one planned to stay.
Traces of Ian are still visible. The reconstructed house is located adjacent to other houses in various stages of construction. Construction supplies such as bricks, pipes and outdoor toilets for workers lined the streets, potential projectiles that could cause further damage in waves or strong winds.
On the beach on Monday, workers were busy clearing out a Goodz grocery store. Owner Graham Belger said he moved “every store on your island” into a trailer after Ian destroyed the permanent building across the street.
“We will rebuild, but it will be bad,” he said.
Meanwhile, in Mexico, authorities in the state of Yucatán reported only minor damage to the Milton, which remained offshore early Tuesday. Yucatán Gov. Joaquín Díaz said power lines, light poles and trees were downed near the coast and some small thatched-roof structures were destroyed, but he did not report any deaths or injuries.
Spencer reported from Fort Myers Beach. Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Holly Larmer in New Hampshire, Curt Anderson and Kate Payne in Tampa, and Freida Free in Fort Lauderdale. Salo, Seth Borenstein in Washington, and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City.
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