Florida Authorities Respond to Hurricane Milton; 'We Are Preparing for the Largest Evacuation'

Milton strengthened and gained hurricane status on Sunday as it headed toward Florida, less than two weeks after Category 4 Hurricane Helene made landfall and caused widespread damage. The state is now bracing for another potentially devastating meteorological blow.

Experts expect Hurricane Milton to make landfall on Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane and warn it could strengthen into a Category 4.

Gov. Ron DeSantis expanded the state of emergency to 16 more counties. "We now have a total of 51 Florida counties in a state of emergency," he said. "A major hurricane is the most likely outcome—this is not a good track for the state of Florida."

In a press conference Sunday, Kevin Guthrie, executive director for the Florida Division of Emergency Management, said his team was preparing for "the largest evacuation that we have seen" since 2017's Hurricane Irma.

"Evacuate if you are in an evacuation zone. If you are not in an evacuation zone and your house was built in accordance with the Florida building code, you may be better off staying in place," he said. "If you are dependent on power, you will need to evacuate. If you're dependent on a special set of circumstances, you'll need to evacuate."

Tropical Storm Milton formed in the western Gulf on Saturday morning. According to a CNN report, the storm is running ahead of schedule, as this wasn't expected until Oct. 25.

The rain, which has already begun, brings the risk of widespread minor to moderate river flooding, according to USA Today's interview with hurricane center specialist Eric Blake. Blake warns about some areas reaching 5 to 8 inches, with localized totals of up to 12 inches across portions of the Florida Peninsula and the Keys through Wednesday night.

Entire communities in Florida remain devastated by Hurricane Helene. In Keaton Beach, for example, authorities confirmed that 90% of homes were "gone." The flooding, combined with ongoing rain, has further complicated recovery efforts.

Milton is forecast to strengthen and bring life-threatening impacts to portions of the west coast of Florida next week, CNN reports. The storm is expected to "quickly intensify while it moves across the Gulf of Mexico."

"There are a lot of possibilities when it comes to the storm—let that uncertainty influence your preparations," said DeSantis, later advising people to "not try to game the forecast."
You can check if you are in an evacuation zone by visiting this evacuation map created by state authorities.