Milton is forecast to remain an ‘extremely dangerous hurricane’ through landfall in Florida on Wednesday
Wood panels protect the windows of a house as residents in St Petersburg, Florida, prepare for Hurricane Milton. Photograph: Zack Wittman/The New York Timesis set to approach the Florida peninsula as a catastrophic Category 4 storm, bearing down on a region still struggling to recover from Helene’s devastation.
With winds this intense, Milton is capable of collapsing homes, flattening trees and triggering power outages that could last weeks to months. It’s difficult for hurricanes to maintain their maximum strength for long, however, so Milton’s winds may drop as it nears Florida’s west coast.
Officials in the Yucatán Peninsula issued their own evacuation calls as the storm lashed the coast with wave heights forecast to top 6m . Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum and Yucatán governor Joaquin Diaz Mena urged citizens in the area to follow official instructions and go to shelters to stay safe. Authorities have also shut ports in the Gulf of Mexico and suspended schools in some municipalities of Quintana Roo state.
Although Milton has been downgraded from its earlier Category 5 status, it initially quickly escalated in strength from hot Gulf of Mexico waters that also intensified the deadly Helene less than two weeks ago. Residents install wood panels to protect windows in St Petersburg, Florida. Governor Ron DeSantis warned residents to brace for a 'ferocious' storm. Photograph: Zack Wittman/The New York Times
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