Florida on alert: Hurricane Milton returned to category five before making landfall

Milton regained strength on Tuesday and It became a category 5 cyclone with maximum sustained winds of 270 km/h as it moves towards the state of Florida, according to the United States Hurricane Center (NHC).

“Fluctuations in intensity are likely as Milton moves across the eastern Gulf of Mexico, but it is forecast to be a significant and dangerous hurricane when it reaches the west-central coast of Florida on Wednesday night.”the agency reported.

Already affected by the destructive passage of Helene ten days ago, which left more than 234 dead, “the entire Florida peninsula is under some type of alert or warning,” Governor Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday. Biden said Milton could be “Florida’s worst storm in a century” and called on Americans in at-risk areas to “evacuate now, now, now.”

“It is a matter of life or death,” added the president.

Hurricane Milton: air traffic restricted

The airlines enabled additional flights departing from Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers and Sarasotato relieve congestion on the roads. Milton may be “the worst” storm to hit the Tampa area in more than 100 years, according to the NHC.

Hurricane expert Michael Lowry warned that in the Tampa area, with about three million inhabitants, Milton’s storm surge “could double the levels” recorded two weeks ago by Helene, which caused major flooding.

The rains and winds brought by Hurricane Helene were 10% more intense due to climate change, according to a study published this Wednesday by the World Weather Attribution (WWA) network.

“Helene was a wake-up call. This is literally catastrophic,” Jane Castor, mayor of the city of Tampa, told CNN on Monday. “I can say this without it being an exaggeration: if you choose to stay in one of the evacuation zones, you will die.”

Generators, food, water and tarps are being distributed throughout Florida and many residents are protecting their homes or planning to leave.

Milton passed near the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico on Monday night, causing heavy rain, strong winds and waves, but with no major damage reported.

Call from politicians

The vice president and Democratic candidate for the White House, Kamala Harrisasked Florida residents to “take local authorities seriously.” “Floridans, you are tenacious people who have suffered a lot, but this is going to be different”Harris warned on ABC.

In a sign of the seriousness of the situation, Biden suspended a planned trip to Germany and Angola this week, the White House reported Tuesday.

Desperate evacuations in Florida

The southeastern United States is still recovering from the devastating Hurricane Helene. Emergency services continue to work to help the many victims.

In a frenetic scene that was repeated in several places in Florida, dozens of cars lined up at a gym in Tampa to collect sandbags with which to protect their homes from the floods that Milton will bring.

John Gómez, 75, ignored the recommendations and traveled from Chicago to try to save the house he has in Florida. “I think it’s better to be here in case something happens”Gómez said while waiting in line.

Scientists say climate change likely plays a role in the rapid intensification of hurricanes, because warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, giving storms more energy and intensifying their winds.

The United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) had predicted in May that the North Atlantic hurricane season (June to November) would be especially turbulent this year due to ocean temperatures.

In the midst of the presidential campaign, the Republican candidate Donald Trump tapped into real frustration over federal response after Helene and has fed it misinformation, falsely claiming that federal disaster money had been misappropriated and spent instead on migrants. His rival Harris called him “extraordinarily irresponsible.”