An extremely powerful hurricane that some are calling the “storm of the century” was bearing down on Florida Wednesday evening, as officials warned residents of “life-threatening” storm surge, “devastating” winds and “catastrophic” flooding.
Hurricane Milton with 120 mph winds was expected to bring a destructive storm surge — up to 13 feet in spots along a portion of the west-central coast of the Florida Peninsula, with Sarasota in the bullseye zone.
Officials pleaded with residents to evacuate ahead of the monstrous storm.
“This is life-threatening inundation,” National Hurricane Center Director Michael Brennan said during a briefing Wednesday evening. “That water is going to violently be pushed onto dry land by the winds associated with Milton as it makes landfall… Hopefully everybody in those storm surge evacuation zones is now out of harm’s way.”
A large swath of central Florida, including even inland areas like Orlando, were at risk for “devastating hurricane-force winds,” Brennan said. There could be structural damage, tree damage, and widespread power outages.
Rainfall amounts of 6 to 12 inches, with localized totals up to 18 inches, were possible. That would trigger “catastrophic flash flooding,” Brennan said.
“You will see water entering homes and businesses,” he added. “People will be forced to be rescued and evacuated from flooded areas.”
There was also a risk of strong tornadoes across the southern and central portions of the Florida Peninsula. Ahead of Milton’s landfall on Thursday, a tornado touched down in St. Lucie County and destroyed a sheriff’s facility.
The 10,000 square-foot facility was quickly destroyed by a “devastating tornado,” St. Lucie County Sheriff Keith Pearson said in a social media video.
“A tornado came ripping through here… this was a devastating tornado,” he added. “Thankfully, nobody was in there (the facility) at the time.”
In Sarasota, a shelter in place went into effect Wednesday evening ahead of Milton’s landfall.
“It is no longer safe to be on the roadways,” the Sarasota County Government posted. “Individuals SHOULD NOT go out on the roadways. They should now SHELTER IN PLACE. There are reports of flooding and it is not safe to be out on the road for the duration of the storm.”
Gov. Ron DeSantis was telling residents to heed evacuation warnings from their local emergency management officials.
“You don’t need to evacuate hundreds of miles but tens of miles to avoid deadly storm surge,” the governor posted. “Belongings can be replaced; your life cannot.
“If you are not in a mandatory evacuation zone and choose to shelter in place, be prepared for power outages and make sure you operate your generator safely after the storm,” DeSantis added.
The state had more than 50,000 linemen and all the necessary equipment staged just outside of Milton’s path.
“This is the largest staging of power restoration linemen in Florida’s history, and they are ready to get to work restoring power as soon as the storm passes,” the governor posted. “Florida is grateful for them, and for all the first responders and emergency management professionals who are working around the clock to keep our communities safe.”
President Biden said he has been communicating with DeSantis, adding that he has made it clear to the governor that he should reach out for anything as the hurricane hits.
“Within a few hours, Hurricane Milton – which some are calling the storm of the century – will make landfall on the Western Coast of Florida,” Biden posted. “Today, I convened leaders from my Administration for a briefing around our latest efforts to save lives and livelihoods.”
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