Florida is bracing for what some meteorologists are already calling the most powerful hurricane in 100 years in the state.
Milton is only a few hundred km from the west coast of the Floridawhich it should reach in 24 hours, but it has already given a taste of its power this Tuesday in Mexico, off the coast of the Yucatan peninsula where it caused some damage.
With sustained winds at 250kmh, Milton has now returned to category 5. Studies will be carried out by the American Oceanic and Atmospheric Observing Agency (NOAA) during the day to clarify whether it will remain at this level of destruction upon arrival in Florida.
Tuesday NASA published on X these impressive images taken by the American astronaut Matthew Dominick from the ISS. The Station flew over the hurricane for a few seconds.
One thing is certain, once it makes landfall, Milton is expected to remain a major hurricane crossing the Florida peninsula from west to east.
Evacuation orders concern almost the entire western side of Florida, i.e. 51 counties, including Tampa and its surroundings where Milton is expected to make landfall, and where nearly 4 million people live.
Tens of thousands of people have fled, saturating the highways. Many gas stations in Florida were stormed. Nearly 50% of them were empty in the Tampa area.
This Tuesday, the American president therefore relayed the message from the authorities and encouraged all residents of the areas concerned to flee as quickly as possible.
“If you have received an evacuation order, you must do so now. NOW. NOW. You should have evacuated by now. It’s a matter of life and death. This is not hyperbole. It’s a matter of life and death.”
Milton arrives only two weeks after Hurricane Helene
Milton will hit regions already devastated byHurricane Helene less than two weeks ago. The deadliest storm on the continent since Katrina in 2005 caused at least 225 deaths. Hundreds more are still missing. States like South Carolina, Tennessee or Georgia
Due to continuing power outages in some Florida counties, debris from Hurricane Helen could not be cleared and incinerated. The latter will therefore find themselves in the middle of Milton in a few hours as shown in this photo from the AP agency.
