Sarasota, United States:

Hurricane Milton blasted ashore in Florida Wednesday night with furious winds, life-threatening rain and storm surge, as people who endured another hurricane just two weeks ago braced for a long, violent night.

The “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm made landfall near Siesta Key, in a densely populated area on the state’s western coast, the National Hurricane Center said in an 8:30 pm (0030 GMT Thursday) bulletin.

“So the storm is here. It’s time for every one to hunker down,” Governor Ron DeSantis told a press conference just before Milton’s arrival.

Life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding were happening across the central Florida peninsula, the NHC said.

Tidal surges are expected to inundate western Florida’s heavily populated and low-lying Gulf Coast amid fears of widespread chaos and possible fatalities.

Milton is later expected to rip through inland areas to the Atlantic Ocean, with tourist hub Orlando — home to Walt Disney World — in its path.

As it hit land Milton was packing sustained winds moving at 120 miles (205 kilometers) per hour, with potential for as much as 13 feet (four meters) of storm surge, the NHC said.

In cities up and down Florida’s western coast, the wind howled furiously and torrential rain fell as frightened people took shelter wherever they could.

In the city of Sarasota, near Siesta Key, gusts of wind blew panes of glass from buildings on the waterfront. The streets were deserted. Trees swayed almost horizontal, barely able to withstand the wind. Businesses were shuttered and sandbagged.

On a wooden board fixed against a window of an old red brick building, someone wrote: “Be kind Milton.”

Just before landfall DeSantis said it was too late and too dangerous to evacuate anyone so people had to stay put and weather the storm wherever they were.

“Stay inside and stay off the roads. Flood waters and rushing storm surge are very dangerous,” the governor said.

The airports in Tampa and Sarasota were closed until further notice.

‘The other storm’

Milton hit just two weeks after another major hurricane, Helene, hit Florida and other southeastern states with devastating and deadly effect.

“I am nervous. This is something we just went through with the other storm — ground saturated, still recovering from that,” Randy Prior, who owns a pool business, told AFP.

Prior, 36, says he plans to ride out the storm at home, after recently toughing out Hurricane Helene, which sparked flooding in Florida before wreaking havoc across remote areas further inland such as western North Carolina.

The Weather Channel reported “numerous tornadoes” touching down in central and southern Florida.

With the storm coming immediately after lethal Helene hit the US southeast, presidential candidate Donald Trump has sought political advantage by falsely saying aid is channeled away from residents, many of whom are supporters of his Republican Party, and toward migrants.

At the White House on Wednesday, President Joe Biden slammed the Republican former president and current candidate’s “onslaught of lies.”

“There’s been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies,” Biden said in angry remarks.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is taking on Trump at the polls, echoed Biden’s criticisms in a separate telephone interview with CNN.

“It is dangerous, it is unconscionable, frankly, that anyone who’d consider themselves a leader would mislead desperate people to the point that those desperate people would not receive the aid to which they are entitled,” she said.

Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Helene, which killed at least 235 people.

Scientists say global warming has a role in intense storms as warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, providing additional energy for storms, which exacerbates their winds.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

Washington:

Hurricane Milton, the Category 4 storm headed toward the southeastern United States, could be the worst to hit Florida in a century, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday.

“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century. God willing it won’t be, but that’s what it’s looking like right now,” Joe Biden told reporters at the White House.

“You should evacuate now, now, now. You should have already evacuated. It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not hyperbole,” he said as advisors briefed him on the storm.

Mr Biden said he had postponed a planned trip to Angola and Germany this week because “I just don’t think I can be out of the country at this time.”

He said he would try to reschedule the visits.

Mr Biden also condemned misinformation that Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump and his party have spread about hurricane relief efforts ahead of next month’s US election.

“Those who do it, do it to try to damage the administration,” Mr Biden said.

He said that “we can take care of ourselves” but expressed concern about the impact that it could have on the ground.

“It’s un-American. It really is. People are scared to death. People know their lives are at stake, all that they’ve worked for, all that they own, all that they value,” he said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Vehicles stuck in sand swept up by Hurricane Helene ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall in Treasure Island, Florida, US, on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Milton exploded into the Atlantic’s strongest hurricane this year, bearing down as a catastrophic Category 5 storm on a Florida region still struggling to recover from Helene’s devastation.
| Photo Credit: Bloomberg

Hurricane Milton weakened to a Category 4 storm on Tuesday (October 8, 2024) as it barrelled toward the west coast of Florida, where it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday (October 9, 2024).

“Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida,” the US National Hurricane Center said in an advisory, adding the storm was packing sustained winds of around 155 miles per hour (250 kmh).

Milton was downgraded early Tuesday (October 8, 2024) to a Category 4 hurricane, but forecasters said it still posed “an extremely serious threat to Florida.” Milton had intensified quickly Monday (October 7, 2024), becoming a Category 5 storm at midday with maximum sustained winds of 180 mph (285 kph) before being downgraded.

Milton’s centre could come ashore Wednesday (October 9, 2024) in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.

Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear luck is about to run out for the region and its 3.3 million residents. President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and US Rep. Kathy Castor said 7,000 federal workers were mobilised to help in one of the largest mobilisations of federal personnel in history.

“This is the real deal here with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told a Monday news conference. “If you want to take on Mother Nature, she wins 100 per cent of the time.” The Tampa Bay area is still rebounding from Helene and its powerful surge — a wall of water up to 8 feet (2.4 metres) it created even though its eye was 100 miles (160 kilometres) offshore. Twelve people died there, with the worst damage along a string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

Forecasters warned that Milton could bring a possible 8- to 12-foot (2.4- to 3.6-metre) storm surge, leading to evacuation orders being issued for beach communities all along the Gulf coast. In Florida, that means anyone who stays is on their own and first responders are not expected to risk their lives to rescue them at the height of the storm.

Stragglers were a problem during Helene and 2022’s Ian. Many residents failed to heed ample warnings, saying they evacuated during previous storms only to have major surges not materialize. But there was evidence on Monday (October 7, 2024) that people were getting out before Milton arrives.

The signs of Ian’s devastation remain visible everywhere. Rebuilt homes stand next to others in various states of construction. There are numerous vacant lots, which were once rare.