Hurricane Milton makes landfall in Florida | Wilnesh News

The National Hurricane Center said Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, on Wednesday night as an “extremely dangerous” Category 3 storm.

The NHC said the storm had sustained winds of up to 120 mph and warned of life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds and flash flooding in the central Florida peninsula.

As of 8 p.m. ET, the National Hurricane Center said the storm was about 20 miles southwest of Sarasota and about 130 miles southwest of Orlando. one Storm surge warning in effect West Coast of Florida, including Tampa.

Milton was a Category 5 storm on Monday, but dropped to a Category 4 storm Wednesday morning. The National Hurricane Center previously predicted that the storm would remain a hurricane as it moved across the Florida peninsula.

Several tornadoes and heavy rain hit south-central Florida early Wednesday as residents scrambled to make last-minute preparations. At least 1 million people without power The state was in that state as of 9 p.m. ET, according to tracking website poweroutage.us.

Milton rapidly intensify It travels across the Gulf of Mexico due to the heat of the Gulf’s surface waters. When a storm forms a hurricane, it absorbs energy from the heat of surface waters. By 2024, Hottest global average temperature on recordGregory Foltz, a physical oceanographer at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Milton’s ability to become stronger in such a short period of time is “almost certain.”

Millions of people trapped in 15 counties mandatory evacuation order. Federal Emergency Management Agency Written on Wednesday: “If you don’t take immediate action, your life is at serious risk – every second counts.”

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said people along the coast still have time to evacuate inland and recommended they go to one of 149 general population shelters open across the state.

“The total population in shelters right now is only 31,000 people. We have space in those shelters for almost 200,000 people. So there’s space available in those shelters,” DeSantis said during a storm briefing Wednesday morning. , more people are expected to visit shelters Wednesday afternoon and evening.

DeSantis also said the Florida Highway Patrol has assisted 106 long-distance tanker escorts to transport nearly 1 million gallons of gasoline to Tampa and other areas.

Gas stations across the state have been running out of fuel as people try to leave the state or stock up on fuel for home generators. About 24% of the state’s 7,900 gas stations were out of fuel as of 7:04 p.m. ET, up from about 17% on Tuesday, according to the count. Data from GasBuddy.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Dean Criswell recommended Wednesday that Floridians in storm surge watch areas should still try to evacuate, even if it’s just a few miles inland. “Milton is going to be a deadly and catastrophic storm,” Criswell said at a news conference.

Criswell also said she would travel to Florida on Wednesday to help with recovery efforts after the storm hit. “I want people to get my message directly that FEMA is ready,” she said.

National Weather Service Issue tornado warning Wednesday across much of central and southern Florida, including Miami-Dade County. The warning also includes hail up to half an inch in size and wind gusts up to 70 mph.

At 11 a.m., the National Hurricane Center reported a tornado supercell in southern Florida. National Weather Service tornado reported The hurricane’s outer belt moved through the region, traveling along Interstate 75 near Miami.

Another tornado Recorded near the Evergladesa wetland at the southern tip of the Florida Peninsula.

Emergency preparations for Milton come as Floridians are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which made landfall on September 26. died in the storm Recovery efforts fell behind as the storm isolated communities. Helen also stressed the unpredictability of the hurricane as the storm transformed into a tropical storm and still ravaged the inland North Carolina city of Asheville.

The Justice Department on Wednesday warned Florida and other consumers to be wary of any potential fraud or price-gouging schemes during and after hurricanes. Price gouging is when retailers artificially raise prices without increasing costs. Consumers are especially vulnerable to price gouging during natural disasters such as hurricanes.

The department said people are not required to pay for disaster relief, only scammers who repeatedly urge people to pay for services through wire transfers, gift cards, payment apps, cryptocurrency or cash.

“Companies, take note: Don’t use hurricanes as an excuse to exploit people through illegal conduct,” said Manish Kumar, Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division. “The Antitrust Division and its enforcement partners will act swiftly. , root out anti-competitive behavior and use all available tools to hold wrongdoers accountable.”

President Joe Biden backed that view during Wednesday’s hurricane briefing, saying: “I’m calling on airlines and other companies to provide as much service as possible to accommodate evacuees and not to go up on price gouging, as long as they do so during an emergency. .

The U.S. Department of Transportation told CNBC it is already in talks with airlines about flight affordability in storm-affected areas.

Biden said Milton could be the worst storm to hit Florida in more than a century, and his administration has deployed thousands of federal personnel to the Southeast to aid in the recovery.

—CNBC’s Christine Wang contributed to this report.