Millions of people are being ordered to leave their homes ahead of Hurricane Milton’s arrival on the west coast of Florida.
The category five storm, with ferocious winds of up to 165mph (270km/h), is expected to be the most powerful to hit the area in a century.
Last night, US President Joe Biden warned leaving the area was a matter of “life and death”. “Evacuate now, now, now,” he told Florida residents.
What is a category five hurricane?
Category five hurricanes are considered “catastrophic” by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (Noaa).
They carry wind speeds greater than 155mph (249km/h) and can cause “very severe and extensive damage”.
The US government agency urges “massive evacuations” in residential areas near shorelines, since a category five hurricane can also bring storm surges that exceed 18ft (5m) and destroy many homes.
Trees and power lines can also be downed, causing the isolation of residential areas and lengthy power cuts. Noaa says affected areas can be left uninhabitable for weeks or months.
Data from Noaa, external shows that at least 40 storms in the Atlantic have reached category five status since 1924, though only four have actually hit land at that strength.
The storm has prompted the state’s largest evacuation effort in years, with Governor Ron DeSantis warning that a “monster” is on the way.
The storm comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene – the deadliest mainland storm since Katrina in 2005 – pummelled the US south-east, killing at least 225. Hundreds more are missing.
Thousands of prisoners moved ahead of Hurricane Milton
Thousands of prison and jail inmates have been moved before Hurricane Milton strikes land in Florida, according to the state’s Department of Corrections.
In an update online, the Florida Department of Corrections, or FDC, said that a total of 4,636 inmates have so far been evacuated from the path of the storm “without compromising public safety”.
Prisoners were moved from nearly 30 facilities, including work camps, it said.
‘It’s a gamble we weren’t willing to make’: Floridians evacuating as storm nears
If you decide to live in Florida, you inevitably are entered into the “hurricane lottery,” Gerald Lemus tells me from a hotel he’s fled to.
Lemus has lived in the Gulf Coast city of Bradenton his whole life and has never evacuated until now. He saw the region devastated by Helene and watched as Milton quickly intensified. He made the decision to leave for Kissimmee – a more inland city – as he glanced over at his 8-year-old daughter watching Bluey.
“I just looked at her and I couldn’t traumatise her to something like this,” he told me. “It’s a gamble we weren’t willing to make.”
His one-story home was built in the 1950s and has an older roof and windows.
“A category five, that is like a giant tornado coming at you,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be there. This will be a life-changing storm no matter where it hits.”
Chynna Perkins wrestled with the idea to evacuate her Tampa home but she and her husband have two large dogs. She felt safe in her newer construction home.
“I don’t think people really understand how much planning has to go into a decision like this,” she told me. “There’s so much traffic and barely any gas available right now. People are running out of gas on the highway.”
What time will Hurricane Milton hit Florida?
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects Milton to make landfall as an “extremely dangerous hurricane” in the US state of Florida on Wednesday night, local time.
It could strike near the city of Tampa, whose wider metropolitan area has a population of more than three million people.
Forecasters are warning of torrential rain, flash flooding, high winds and possible storm surges – which occur when water moves inland from the coast.
They say Milton could be the worst storm to hit the area in about a century – with a surge of 10-15ft (3-4.5m) possible, and localised rainfall of up to 1.5ft.
While the hurricane dropped in intensity on Tuesday before returning to category five status, officials warned that it could double in size before striking Florida on Wednesday.
The core of the hurricane is expected to pass over west-central Florida, with a large storm surge expected along a swathe of the state’s coast ahead of landfall.
Hurricane warning in place for 28 counties in Florida
About 28 counties are now under a hurricane warning ahead of Milton’s arrival in Florida, according to the states Division of Emergency Management (FDEM).
“Finalise your disaster plans, charge all of your devices & continue to heed all orders from local officials,” the agency says., external
Floridians have been told to prepare for the state’s largest evacuation effort in years, with Governor Ron DeSantis warning that a “monster” is on the way.
Disaster management authorities have also issued a list and map, external of the evacuation orders, and several shelters have also been prepared as a last resort for those stranded.
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