Paralyzed and in suspense, the State of Florida holds its breath as the hurricane passes Milton,downgraded to category 1 after making landfall, accompanied in its advance by powerful winds, torrential rains and the imminent risk of flash floods. In a first provisional assessment, at least two people have lost their lives as a result of the tornado. After two days of chaotic evacuations that paralyzed the peninsula’s highways and in which up to seven million people left their homes without the certainty that they will have a home to return to, we must wait for daylight to assess the degree of destruction. For now, Milton has caused electricity outages that have affected more than 2.9 million people.
The cyclone made landfall on Siesta Key, about 112 kilometers south of the city of Tampa, at 8:30 p.m. Eastern time in the United States (six hours more in mainland Spain). Despite having downgraded on Wednesday afternoon, Milton It hit the coast with maximum sustained winds of about 193 kilometers per hour, life-threatening storm surges of up to four meters in the Sarasota area, as well as maximum rainfall forecasts of 46 centimeters in some places. If this strength continues, it is expected that the cyclone could cause significant damage many miles inland.
In Tampa, in the west of the State, in the first hours after the cyclone hit land, the winds carried vehicles, debris and branches through the streets, illuminated by the rays of blue light from the exploding transformers. The water level has risen little by little. One of the first images that measure the strength of Milton It took place in St. Petersburg, a Siamese city from Tampa, just across the bay. The Tropicana baseball stadium lost its roof due to the winds. The facility was prepared to serve as a base for hundreds of lifeguards. By midnight it was unclear whether they would be safe.
The storm is expected to cross the state from west to east still as a hurricane, passing almost directly over Orlando and its surrounding areas before exiting the Atlantic, expected as a Category 1, on Thursday morning. The flood alert goes from coast to coast. Although the risk of storm surge for Tampa Bay did not materialize as it hit fully further south, in Fort Myers, flooding was reported even hours before the cyclone made landfall.
The mobilization in the face of the emergency has been, in the words of Governor Ron DeSantis, “probably the largest in the history of Florida, perhaps in the country.” It includes about 9,000 members of the National Guard, local and from other States; more than 50,000 public service workers who have arrived from as far away as California to restore basic services as soon as possible; helicopters and rescue vehicles ready to leave as soon as conditions allow, and millions of liters of fuel and diesel in reserve to supply gas stations. But preparation, DeSantis has admitted, does not translate into absolute control of the situation. “Unfortunately, there will be deaths. “I don’t think there is a way to avoid that,” he said hours before the impact of Miltonat a press conference in Tallahassee, the state capital.
It was feared that Milton It was the first cyclone in more than a century to directly hit Tampa Bay, after being saved at the last moment on numerous occasions. In the end it happened again. This history raised fears that the population, greater than that of the 20 least inhabited States, would not comply with the evacuation orders, which affected more than seven million people.
Just two weeks ago, the west Florida coast suffered especially from huge storm surges when Helene passed nearby, before embarking on its destructive path north that, after causing at least 230 deaths, made it the second deadliest hurricane in the country’s history, only behind Katrinain 2005. The memory of Helenestill present in houses and buildings with water marks – scars from recent floods – or in the piles of debris lining the sidewalks – which are feared will disperse and cause even more damage – has been a compelling reason to evacuate.
Cathie Perkins, the emergency director of Pinellas County, located on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay and to which St. Petersburg belongs, alluded to precisely this in her last warning to her neighbors. “The time has come, friends. For those of you who were hit during the hurricane Helenethis will be the knockout[golpe final]. They have to leave, and they have to leave now,” he urged. And he added that those who decided to stay would have to figure it out for themselves, as emergency services would not risk their own lives to make rescues during the peak of the storm.
That peak was passing from the moment when Milton It made landfall, with the winds gradually decreasing in intensity as it moved away from the water and also due to the dry air entering from the west that dispersed the eye of the hurricane, where the strongest gusts are concentrated. The deadly risks, and the greatest damage, will come with the floods, which are feared to be catastrophic and will generate millions of dollars in losses, perhaps the largest ever recorded.
Milton has already made history. It is the third fastest intensifying hurricane, thanks to the warm water of the Gulf of Mexico, only behind Felixin 2007 and Wilmain 2005. Milton It went from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane in just 25 hours. It has also been reported that it is the fifth most powerful cyclone on record in the Atlantic. St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch already had his eye on the next day before Miltonhit, with power outages expected to last up to weeks and the sewage system suspended. “We have a long road ahead of us, but we will recover and rebuild,” he said.
