TALLAHASSEE — Florida has ramped up debris-removal efforts and recalled emergency workers who provided aid in North Carolina after Hurricane Helene, as residents of Florida’s West Coast face another potentially major storm barreling through the deep, warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
With Tropical Storm Milton expected to become a hurricane before hitting Florida in the middle of the week, state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie on Sunday urged residents to immediately start putting storm plans in place, which could include evacuating further inland.
“We are preparing, and I have the State Emergency Response Team preparing for the largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma,” Guthrie said during a news conference at the state Emergency Operations Center.
In advance of Irma, an estimated 6.8 million people took to the road, resulting in large traffic jams on Interstate 95, Interstate 75 and Florida’s Turnpike. Irma, which was a Category 3 storm on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale, ran up the spine of the state after making landfall in the Florida Keys and on Marco Island.
In information released at 11 a.m. Sunday, the National Hurricane Center said Milton is “forecast to quickly intensify while it moves eastward to northeastward across the Gulf of Mexico and be a major hurricane when it reaches the West Coast of the Florida peninsula mid-week.”
“While it is too soon to specify the exact magnitude and location of the greatest impacts, there is an increasing risk of life-threatening storm surge and damaging winds for portions of the West Coast of the Florida peninsula beginning Tuesday night or early Wednesday,” the hurricane center said.
Duke Energy Florida, which provides electricity in areas such as St. Petersburg, Clearwater and around Orlando, issued a news release Sunday urging customers to prepare for “extended outages” from Milton.
“Tropical Storm Milton’s current path poses a major threat to communities along the state’s West Coast,” Todd Fountain, Duke Energy Florida storm director, said in a prepared statement. “We want to assure our customers our team is ready to respond. We will be mobilizing our mutual assistance crews from across the country to help with power restoration.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Sunday that utility crews are staging ahead of Milton. He said a storm traveling west to east in the area of Interstate 4 will result in “a lot of power outages. That is just something that I think people should prepare for.”
As people evacuate in advance of the storm, Guthrie said the state plans to have emergency fuel and to identify places for refuge along evacuation routes. Also, the state Department of Transportation is activating all of its Road Rangers to provide assistance to motorists, Guthrie said.
“I know that many Floridians are still trying to recover from Hurricane Helene, and your plans for Milton need to reflect that,” Guthrie said. “Did you go through all your water? Did you go through all your food? Did you go through all your pet food? Do you need to get new batteries? Please make sure you’re doing that today.”
DeSantis urged Gulf Coast residents to take seriously the expected arrival of Milton and directed state crews to work around the clock to assist in local debris removal.
“This debris creates a hazard if we then get another storm in that same area,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis on Sunday expanded an executive order declaring a pre-landfall state of emergency to 51 counties, up from 35 counties on Saturday. Part of the order requires debris-management sites and landfills in counties affected by Helene to remain open for 24-hour debris drop-off “to ensure as much debris from Helene is cleaned up and disposed of ahead of the coming storm.”
DeSantis also called back Florida State Guard, Florida National Guard, Florida Highway Patrol, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission emergency workers who have been helping with Helene recovery efforts in North Carolina and Tennessee.
Helene made landfall Sept. 26 as a Category 4 hurricane in rural Taylor County, but it caused extensive damage in coastal areas as it moved up the Gulf of Mexico. After moving through North Florida and Georgia, it continued causing damage in the Carolinas and Tennessee.
Based on forecast models, Milton could make landfall in Pinellas County, which was hit hard by rains and storm surge in Helene. The meteorological company AccuWeather cautioned the Tampa Bay area could see up to 15 feet of water on top of normal tides because of Milton.