Scots either heading to Florida or already in the beleaguered US state have been warned to take urgent action ahead of the arrival of Hurricane Milton. Officials have advised people to leave the regions that are expected to be impacted worst on Wednesday, with massive ten-foot storm surges and 150-mph winds predicted, the Mirror reports.
The storm’s vengeance could wreak havoc on places that were already devastated by Helene 12 days ago and are still healing from Ian’s wrath two years ago. It has already reached Mexico – and Florida is next.
Thousands of Brits are among those in Florida bracing for the huge hurricane. The Foreign Office has warned those in the area or travelling to Florida: “Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall on the west coast of Florida on the night of October 9 or morning of October 10 with tropical force winds affecting the west coast from the morning of October 9.
“There is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and high winds on the west coast and heavy rainfall and high winds are expected to impact large parts of Florida.
“You should monitor approaching storms on the US National Hurricane Center website, follow instructions from local authorities, including evacuation orders, visit the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) website for information on preparing for extreme weather and evacuating and check with your airline or travel agent about possible disruption to flights or airport services and follow their advice.”
The travel advice also covers American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and United States Virgin Islands. Traffic has been heavy in the state as people fled the Tampa area ahead of Milton.
As they evacuated, crews along the coast hurried to clear Helene’s debris so Milton does not turn it into dangerous projectiles. Milton strengthened to a Category 5 storm on Monday before weakening Tuesday to a Category 4.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said during a morning news conference: “You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away. You can evacuate tens of miles, you do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.”
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