Hurricane Milton to Make Landfall in Florida

Hurricane Milton is a category 5 storm with a wind speed of 165 mph moving closer to western Florida. The National Hurricane Center urged, to complete the evacuations and preparations today as Milton could be, “One of the most destructive Hurricanes on record for west central Florida”. They also added that the hurricane is coming with damaging winds and torrential rainfall which extend well inland and outside the forecast cone. 

Safety Measurements

In at least 16 counties, more than 1 million people are under evacuation orders and both numbers are expected to increase as Milton draws closer to a coastline. People in vulnerable areas are being evacuated immediately; nearly millions of people have fled prioritising their safety causing a mass evacuation in Florida.

The Florida government also relocated  4,636 prisoners successfully without compromising public safety. The Department of Health and Human Services declared a “Public Health Emergency” on Tuesday in expectation of huge health care needs after Milton hits the state. 

Secretary Xavier Becerra deployed around 100 first responders with medical equipment.

The county has arranged 10 public shelters with plenty of space including pet-friendly and special needs. 

Aid from President

President Biden Harris also mentioned that the state has enough funding to support the hurricane.The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) provides direct federal support for all life saving activities and other emergency protective measures for hurricane Milton. 

FEMA has also pre-staged resources in Florida and the regions including six  Incident Management Assistance Teams, five FEMA Urban Search & Rescue teams, three U.S. Coast Guard Swift Water Rescue teams, four HealthCare System Assessment Teams, two U.S Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) temporary power teams, USACE debris experts, Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and wastewater experts, 300 ambulances and 30 High Water Vehicles with ladders from the Department of Defense.

Additionally, FEMA has two incident staging bases with commodities including food and water. Right now, FEMA currently has 20 million meals and 40 million litres of water in the pipeline to deploy when needed for both hurricane Milton and an ongoing recovery from hurricane Helene.