TALLAHASSEE, Florida, 8th October, 2024 (WAM) -- The Category 4 Hurricane Milton was expected to grow larger on Tuesday as it threatened Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula on its way to Florida, where more than a million people were ordered to evacuate from its path, Reuters reported.
The densely populated west coast of Florida, still reeling from the devastating Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago, is bracing for landfall on Wednesday.
The US National Hurricane Centre projected the storm was likely to hit near the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, home to more than 3 million people and where some evacuees rushed to dispose of mounds of debris left behind by Helene on their way out of town.
While fluctuations in intensity are expected, Milton is forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane through landfall in Florida, according to the hurricane centre. That means catastrophic damage will occur, including power outages expected to last days.
In Florida, counties along the western coast ordered people in low-lying areas to take shelter on higher ground.
With one final day for people to evacuate on Tuesday, local officials raised concerns of traffic jams and long lines at gas stations.
Relief efforts remain ongoing throughout much of the US Southeast in the wake of Helene, a Category-4 hurricane that made landfall in Florida on 26th September, killed more than 200 people and caused billions of dollars in damage across six states.