Monster Hurricane Milton makes landfall, walloping coast of Florida
HURRICANE Milton blasted ashore in Florida on 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 Centre 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.
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As it hit land Milton was packing sustained winds moving at 205 kmh, with potential for as much as 4 m 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.
“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 Helene, which sparked flooding in Florida before wreaking havoc across remote areas further inland such as in western North Carolina.
“I own a business, so once the storm stops, I’ve got to be here, help clean up, get everything back to normal. But this one’s a big one for sure.”
Tampa resident Luis Santiago meanwhile said he would “close up everything” and leave.
The Weather Channel reported “numerous tornadoes” touching down in central and southern Florida.
“It’s time to shelter-in-place from #Milton,” the National Weather Service said.
‘Reckless, irresponsible’
With the storm coming immediately after lethal Hurricane Helene hit the US south-east, presidential candidate Donald Trump has sought political advantage by falsely saying aid is channeled away from supporters of his Republican Party 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.
In Florida, officials again warned those in danger zones to seek safe shelter.
“This hurricane is going to pack a major, major punch and do an awful lot of damage,” Governor Ron DeSantis told a press briefing.
‘Extremely dangerous’
At 2100 GMT, Milton was located 100 km west-southwest of Sarasota, generating maximum sustained winds of 195 kmh, according to the National Hurricane Centre (NHC).
“The centre of Milton will make landfall near or just south of the Tampa Bay region this evening, move across the central part of the Florida peninsula overnight, and emerge off the east coast of Florida on Thursday,” the NHC said.
The airports in Tampa and Sarasota were closed until further notice.
Disinformation
At Walt Disney World in Orlando, which was expected to receive a big hit once Milton crosses the peninsula, visitors got a few rides in before the theme park closed shortly after midday.
“It’s safe and we’re here, so might as well,” said Lindsay Moore, 42, who flew in from Hawaii over the weekend.
Trump has repeatedly fueled conspiracy theories and disinformation about supposed failure by Biden and Harris.
“Western North Carolina, and the whole state, for that matter, has been totally and incompetently mismanaged by Harris/Biden,” Trump said Wednesday on his Truth Social network.
“Hold on, and vote these horrible ‘public servants’ out of office.”
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.
Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Helene, which killed at least 235 people. AFP
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