Evacuation orders posted as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton

Evacuations and storm preparations began Sunday night as forecasters projected that Hurricane Milton would slam into Florida’s west coast Wednesday as a major hurricane packing life-threatening winds and storm surge.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said in a news conference Sunday evening that a “flurry” of evacuation orders would be issued over the next 24 hours.

He encouraged residents on the southwest part of the west coast to leave before the mandatory orders.

“Do not make inferences that somehow you’re going to be in the clear,” he said. “The entire peninsula, the entire west coast, has the potential to have major, major impact because of the storm surge.”

Milton is expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area as a Category 3 hurricane Wednesday.

Forecasters predict heavy rain could bring flash flooding and life-threatening storm surges. Milton could also pack winds of more than 100 mph if the hurricane strengthens to a Category 3 or higher.

Counties began evacuating vulnerable residents Sunday evening. Several long-term care facilities, assisted-living facilities and hospitals in Pinellas County were under mandatory evacuation orders Sunday. The order covered six hospitals, 25 nursing homes and 44 assisted-living facilities, affecting about 6,600 patients, according to the county.

County officials encouraged other residents in low-lying areas also to leave.

Residents in Pasco County and Manatee County were told mandatory evacuation orders would go into effect Monday. Other coastal counties announced Sunday that they would start evacuating residents throughout the day Monday.

Schools and local government offices across Florida announced closures starting Monday and lasting through Thursday. Some college campuses also said they would be closed for several days this week.

Several counties Sunday opened sandbag sites, some of which will be running around the clock.

A little more than a week after Hurricane Helene battered the Gulf Coast of Florida, municipalities and residents were still cleaning up debris when forecasters announced that Milton had strengthened into a hurricane Sunday.

DeSantis called on state and local authorities to make debris removal a 24/7 mission before Milton’s landfall, which he warned could be worse for some Floridians.

“If you saw significant storm surge the last storm, you could have that, and then some, this storm,” he said Sunday. “It is possible that it will exceed what you saw with Hurricane Helene.”

The governor said residents could potentially experience more power outages than there were from Helene, which at its peak left more 2 million residents without power.

He added that it may be “challenging” for restoration crews to get to Florida since many were deployed in other communities still reeling from Helene.

Duke Energy Florida warned that customers should prepare for Milton to cause extended and widespread power failures.

The company is placing crews in areas that will likely be affected so they can respond quickly. However, the powerful winds and storm surge could prevent workers from restoring power safely.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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