TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Governor Ron DeSantis urged Floridians to prepare ahead of Hurricane Milton which became a major hurricane Monday.
“If you saw significant storm surge last storm, you could have that and then some,” DeSantis said during a news conference Sunday evening.
DeSantis also urged local governments to work around the clock to complete debris removal from Hurricane Helene as the state now braces for the impact of Hurricane Milton, especially on the west coast.
“The debris removal mission leading into the storm, certainly for all today, all Monday, and probably all of Tuesday, as long as it’s safe to do so is 24/7 it’s around the clock, and that’s the way it’s got to be. Hurricane Helene left a lot of debris on its way, it did damage to homes. People have had to take things out, and just sitting there is a hazard,” DeSantis said.
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DeSantis said all Floridians need to execute their hurricane plan as soon as possible before the storm arrives, regardless of whether their county is in the cone or not.
“There’s actually a lot of range of possibilities when it comes to this storm, so just be mindful of that, and let that uncertainty influence your preparation,” DeSantis said.
DeSantis directed state personnel and other resources to help local entities as they continue to clean up and dispose of debris left behind by Hurricane Helene. He also said he sent multiple high-water rescue vehicles to Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, where current models predict the storm will make landfall.
“Have the plan? Execute the plan. Now is the time to do it,” DeSantis said.
Milton became a hurricane Sunday afternoon as the storm continues to intensify and move east towards the Florida Peninsula.
DeSantis also said that Floridians should be prepared to get evacuation orders and “a lot of power outages,” and added that the state could potentially see more power outages than what it experienced during Hurricane Helene.
Statewide, 2.3 million people lost power during Helene.
“If you are somebody that is in a very vulnerable part of the west coast of Florida that would be susceptible to storm surge, you certainly can leave now. You don’t have to wait to get an evacuation order,” DeSantis said.
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He also said residents should be prepared to see major impacts from “significant” storm surge.
“If the Tampa Bay is on the dirty side of the storm, it’s likely to generate storm surge in excess of what Helene did,” he said. “If the storm is further south and Tampa Bay is on the weak side of the storm, it may be that the storm pulls water out of Tampa Bay. So there’s a wide range of possibilities that can happen there.”
On Saturday, DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 35 counties ahead of the storm. However, on Sunday morning, DeSantis increased the number of counties under the state of emergency to 51.
MORE | All of Northeast Florida counties under state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Milton
The counties under a state of emergency are: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia counties.
For more information on how to prepare for Milton visit this website.