Florida's national senators, Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, are urging President Joe Biden to approve the Ron DeSantis administration's request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration for 51 counties as Hurricane Milton approaches as one of the strongest storms ever recorded.
"Ensuring that the state has access to the federal resources it needs is imperative to protect Floridians, property and our communities. As such, we request that you promptly approve Governor DeSantis' request for a pre-landfall emergency declaration," reads a passage of the brief letter.
Milton is expected to "grow in size and remain an extremely dangerous hurricane when it approaches the west coast of Florida on Wednesday," the National Hurricane Center warned in an update on Tuesday, urging residents to follow official guidelines and evacuate if told to.
"A large area of destructive storm surge will occur along parts of the west coast of Florida. This is an extremely life-threatening situation," the NHC says, adding that Milton will likely "remain a hurricane as it crosses the Florida Peninsula." "Preparations to protect life and property should be completed by tonight."
4 am CDT - Extremely powerful Hurricane #Milton is just north of the Yucatan Peninsula. Forecast to remain an extremely dangerous hurricane when it reaches Florida Wednesday night. This is a very serious threat and residents in Florida are urged to listen to local officials.… pic.twitter.com/UifYnQO9rf
— National Hurricane Center (@NHC_Atlantic) October 8, 2024
State authorities have intensified debris-removal efforts, recalling workers who had been sent to North Carolina to help with the recovery after Hurricane Helene, which battered the state. Evacuation efforts are also in progress, with state Division of Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie saying on Sunday that he is helping prepare "the largest evacuation that we have seen most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma."
Close to 7 million people have evacuated, causing large traffic jams along the state's main roads. Milton hit sustained winds of 180 miles per hour on Monday night. Although it has now weakened to a Category 4 hurricane, it is expected to regain strength before making landfall. It is also the fourth strongest hurricane ever recorded in terms of barometric pressure at 897 millibars.
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