Oct. 9 (UPI) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and other officials urged residents to get out of harm’s way Wednesday morning before Category 4 Hurricane Milton arrives over the mainland later in the evening.
Floridians at risk don’t have to drive a long way to seek shelter, the governor said, and instead can find safety at local shelters near their location.
As of the 2 p.m. ET summary from the National Hurricane Center, Milton was 150 miles from Tampa and 130 miles from Fort Myers with maximum sustained winds down to 130 mph, moving to the northeast at 16 mph.
“Milton growing in size as it moves closer to the West Coast of Florida,” the hurricane center said Wednesday afternoon. “Life-threatening storm surge, damaging winds and flooding rain expected across portions of central and Southwestern Florida.”
A hurricane warning remained in effect from Bonita Beach to Tampa Bay.
As Milton approaches, DeSantis said there is still plenty of room at local shelters in the affected areas. He said as the storm wobbles a little more south toward Fort Myers, 30,000 have taken up shelters with a capacity of 200,000.
“We still have plenty of rooms in the local shelters,” DeSantis said. “You may think it’s too late, but you may be able to drive just 10 miles and find shelter.”
The governor said many of those shelters have been equipped with generators and other necessities that make the stay there over the next 36 hours as comfortable as possible. He said the roads are relatively clear due to people evacuating early but warned the window to drive long distances to safety is quickly shrinking.
DeSantis said the utility companies have amassed an army of 50,000 linemen deployed around the hurricane zone and will immediately start working to get power back to customers once Milton passes. He said 51 Florida counties remain under a state of emergency as Milton is expected to make landfall Wednesday night.
DeSantis also promised a massive search and rescue operation after the storm with extra personnel from the Florida National Guard, Florida State Guard, Florida Fish and Wildlife and Florida Highway Patrol all being activated.
“This story is going to pack a major punch and do an awful lot of damage,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis did set out to try to squash some misinformation as the storm approached. He said that while some convenience stores have run out of gasoline, there is no gasoline shortage in the state and many tankers are being escorted by police to refill gas stations.
DeSantis said he has spoken with President Joe Biden and is in regular contact with FEMA, appearing to quite concerns that there was a disconnect between his administration and the federal government over hurricane preparedness.
The governor said he wanted to thank 20 states that have sent assistance before the arrival of Milton.
“That is just what we as Americans do,” DeSantis said. “We had opportunities to help other states in the past, most recently in western North Carolina and I think it shows the spirit that these states are stepping up and providing really valued support.”
FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell told ABC News’ Good Morning America that it was more important for people to find high ground away from the water than protect themselves from the treacherous winds.
“The water is what kills people,” Criswell told the show. “Nobody has to die from this storm. They just need to move out of the evacuation zone area into a place that is going to be safe from the storm surge. I believe there’s still time in some areas. Listen to your local officials. They’re going tell you what you still have time to do.”