(Bloomberg) -- The message to Floridians in Milton’s projected path has been clear.
From President Joe Biden and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis to local emergency officials, TV meteorologists and loved ones worrying from afar, those who live in the Sunshine State’s most vulnerable areas have been implored to evacuate. Some 6 million residents live in counties that have issued mandatory evacuation orders, according to the Associated Press.
“You still have time to evacuate if you are in an evacuation zone,” DeSantis said at a press briefing on Wednesday. He said the best option is to head to a shelter in your county, especially as weather conditions worsen. Total shelter occupancy statewide was at about 31,000, he said, out of a total capacity of 200,000.
Milton, a Category 3 storm with top winds of 125 miles (201 kilometers) per hour as of 4 p.m. on Wednesday, is expected to make an overnight landfall on the state’s central Gulf Coast and then carve a swift, destructive path to the Atlantic Ocean.
As the storm came closer, many local authorities were stepping up efforts to keep people off the streets. In Naples, Mayor Teresa Heitmann said people had been at the beach surfing and watching the storm roll in from the Naples Pier earlier in the day. But police planned to enforce a curfew beginning at 4 p.m.
“The winds are whipping up and howling and there have been tornados,” said Heitmann. “We’re waiting for the surge and we already have high tides coming, that’s a bit of concern.”
For many people living in an evacuation zone, the question of whether to leave — and for where, at what time — can be complicated. Some fear they will be prevented from returning to their damaged property for an extended period. Others are rooted in place by work that must continue even as the storm rages. And some insist that the concern is overdone.
Michelle Browne said Hurricane Helene wrecked so many things in her life that there just wasn't enough time to get out of the way of Milton. Browne, 76, manages a four-building apartment complex on the water in Gulfport, a few miles from downtown St. Petersburg in Pinellas County. Helene sent four feet of water rushing through the first floor.
“It’s terrible, this is just terrible. First Helene, and now another one,” she said. “I am going to lose everything.”
Stuck in a building without power, full of mold and standing water since Helene hit, Browne said she’s spent every available hour following that storm helping her tenants get to safer quarters. For Milton, she plans to stay with her daughter, son-in-law and four young grandchildren in St. Petersburg.
Thousands of people in the Tampa Bay area have sought higher ground — more than 13,000 people had checked into shelters in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties. Just to the south, in Manatee County, some 6,000 stayed in shelters overnight. Authorities in Pinellas County warned residents to be in a safe place no later than 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
As Milton traverses the Florida Peninsula, the storm is expected to push a wall of water into the coastline, with a possible storm surge of as much as 15 feet (4.6 meters) near Sarasota. Additionally, more than a foot and a half of rain could fall on inland areas, creating potential hazards across thousands of square miles, including freshwater flooding and damage to homes, businesses, roads and bridges. Prolonged power outages are likely, forecasters said.
Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, gave an ominous warning to Floridians who have decided to defy evacuation orders, advising them to hide under mattresses if they hear tree branches snapping or powerlines popping.
“If you find yourself, all of a sudden, in absolute calm, you’re in the eyewall of the hurricane,” he warned. “Do not go outside, do not look around. You may be minutes away from a situation that can be life threatening.”
‘You Can’t Stay’
In Sarasota, Mayor Liz Alpert said the city, which lies to the south of the immediate Tampa Bay region, is bracing for the storm. She said that officials have raced to clear as much of the debris left behind by Helene as possible. All police will stay on duty until the end of the storm, she said. Alpert said the city emphasized evacuating its barrier islands and has been offering rides to shelters.
“All of our barrier islands will be underwater,” Alpert said. “You can’t stay on a barrier island and survive that.”
Outside of the immediate evacuation zones, residents were hunkering down. Paige Farr, who has a 10-acre farm in Sarasota and is looking after 10 horses as the storm nears, said there is “no way” she could leave. Her metal barn is built to withstand winds of 130 miles per hour. Still, she said, “I am terrified.”
@NWSWPC is forecasting a high risk of flash flooding from #Milton with rainfall totals up to 18 inches over the Florida Peninsula. This rainfall brings the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding pic.twitter.com/GaHwJecfjS
A few hours before the storm was set to hit, Greg Cruz, 49, was delivering sheets, blankets and inflatable mattresses to two shelters in Sarasota filled with hundreds of disabled people who couldn’t evacuate. Yet Cruz himself said he’s going to ride out the storm at his home, which sits in a mandatory evacuation zone a few miles inland.
“All we can do is board up our house and hope for the best,” he said. “It’s very nerve-racking, but it’s just not practical for us to leave.”
Kevin Anderson, the mayor of Fort Myers in southwest Florida, said he hoped residents would take the storm threat seriously. Anderson has lived in Fort Myers for roughly five decades and said he couldn’t recall a time when a storm came directly at the city from the Gulf.
“I have dealt with a lot of storms,” he said. “This one has me concerned.”
Fort Myers is likely to suffer flooding and other damage from Milton, whose projected path has shifted to the south over the past 24 hours. According to the National Hurricane Center, the city could see a storm surge of eight to 12 feet. Anderson said many people don’t realize that once wind speeds reach dangerous levels, the city can’t respond to emergencies until the storm passes.
Among those who are remaining close to home because of their jobs are health-care workers and hospital staff. Jennifer Higgins, the chief nursing officer at Lee Health in Fort Myers, said many employees of the medical system live in evacuation zones but are still coming to work.
“I have a lot of staff who are committed and they respond and they're probably living in zones A and B,” said Higgins, who isn’t evacuating. “As a nurse and a clinical team member, it is hard to leave your family.”
Listen on Zero: Climate Change Is ‘Loading the Weather Dice Against Us’
--With assistance from Rthvika Suvarna and Magdalena Del Valle.
(Updates fourth paragraph with latest National Hurricane Center data on storm’s intensity, and adds information on Naples starting in fifth paragraph.)
©2024 Bloomberg L.P.