By The Diary
09 Oct 2024, 15:56 PM EDT
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis on Wednesday urged residents of the areas estimated to be most affected by Hurricane Milton to evacuate as soon as possible, emphasizing that the best option for many is to “evacuate within their own county to one of the available shelters.”
With the imminent arrival of the hurricane, which has dropped again to Category 4 but remains dangerous with sustained winds of 250 kilometers per hour, DeSantis stressed that the decision to evacuate must be made quickly.
“We are preparing to receive a big blow,” the governor warned during a press conference.
He stressed that, although roads and highways are still operational and without tolls, time to evacuate safely is running out.
“The conditions are not going to be very good today. “We have done everything we can to facilitate evacuation, but the best option would probably be to simply evacuate within your own county to one of the shelters,” he added.
With heavy rain and the risk of flash flooding expected through Thursday, DeSantis reiterated that residents must act quickly.
“This is a strong storm,” he said. “If we start hearing trees creaking, we should treat it like a tornado and stay low, because we’re going to have debris flying that could be life-threatening.”
“Mother Nature is going to win”
DeSantis was clear in his warning: “If there is a storm surge of about 10 feet (3 meters), we cannot hunker down. You have to go out. Mother Nature is going to win that battle.”
Hurricane Milton, located 210 miles southwest of Tampa and 115 miles northwest of Dry Tortugas, remains a cause for significant concern, especially with the threat of storm surge in areas such as Sarasota and Charlotte.
The governor insisted that although a slight decrease in Milton’s intensity is expected before it makes landfall, the hurricane remains extremely dangerous and is likely to cause a “major impact and a lot of damage” along the west coast of Florida.
DeSantis mentioned that critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and wastewater treatment facilities, have been protected with flood barriers, and generators and Starlink internet devices have been sent to shelters.
In addition, he highlighted that, although there is no fuel shortage in the state, demand has been extremely high, which has led to some gas stations temporarily running out of supply.
With information from EFE.
Keep reading:
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- Hurricane Milton downgrades to Category 4 as Florida prepares for its arrival
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