Hurricane Milton: Dangerous cyclone hits Florida, causing extreme winds and heavy flooding

Milton hit the west coast of the US state of Florida this Wednesday as a Category 3 hurricane, where it is moving east, causing severe flooding and dangerous windstorms.

As expected, the cyclone from the Gulf of Mexico entered the peninsula around the central part of its west coast, south of Tampa Bay, around 00:30 GMT. ,

Milton makes strong entry into Florida The wind speed was around 200 km/hr, which gradually reduced to 185, 177, 165, 160 and 145 km/hr as it entered the area.According to CNH measurement.

In the process of its weakening, it became a Category 2 hurricane and, five hours after hitting the coast, it was downgraded to a Category 2. type 1,

It is moving in east-northeast direction at a speed of 24 km/hour, due to which ‘Deadly’ stormExtreme winds and flash floods.

Sea levels rose in the most affected areas up to 3 metersWhich, combined with strong winds, could cause severe flooding and damage that has not yet been proven.

Water rises ranging from 30 centimeters to more than 2.5 meters were estimated along the remainder of Florida’s west coast.

Along with this, intense rains caused by cyclones are also included. Up to 200 and 300 liters per square meter According to CNH, in some areas.

at least 2 million homes and businesses have lost powerAccording to the specialized website PowerOutage.us.

There is a possibility that the storm in its path will leave millions of people without power indefinitely.

On the other hand, the mayor of St. Lucie County on the East Coast announced that there had been deaths in the community due to the tornado before Milton’s arrival.

Hours before landfall, Milton was downgraded to a Category 4 hurricane (winds up to 251 km/h). Category 3 (up to 208 km/h),

Shortly before hitting the coast, its maximum speed was 205 km/h.

CNH announced that the storm would be “extremely dangerous” when it reached the mid-west coast of Florida, where preparations and evacuations “should have been completed this morning.”

The Tampa Bay metropolitan area was placed on high alert and some of its three million residents received evacuation orders.

There is a storm warning in that and other areas Millions of people left risk areas With mandatory evacuation orders in place in 15 counties on Florida’s west coast.

The officials warned that if they did not do so, they might have to lose their lives.

“This is a matter of life or death,” President Joe Biden said.

This does not mean that the entire population of the strip threatened by Milton has fled or evacuated; Many of its residents, especially those living in more resistant buildings, have stayed at home.

when a storm hits land starts losing intensityBecause it is separated from the hot water that provides it with energy and faces more friction on the Earth’s surface.

After passing through west-central Florida, it is expected to cross the peninsula, passing through Milton. Orlando metropolitan area -With approximately 2 million inhabitants.

According to CNH estimates, the hurricane would persist until it moved off the east coast toward Bermuda, where it should have already been downgraded to a tropical storm.

Shortly before Milton made landfall, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned that it was no longer safe to continue evacuations.

“so Now they must take shelter where they are and protest” DeSantis warned, urging residents to stay indoors and off the roads.

President Biden thanked emergency services for their work and said he was maintaining direct communications with local officials and would receive updates on the storm’s development overnight.

Milton is the third and most powerful hurricane to hit Florida this year, after Helen and Debbie.

Only 5 times since 1871 have three hurricanes struck Florida in the same season.

It is the fifth hurricane to reach the US coast in the Gulf of Mexico this year, a figure of only three instances.

Gordon Correira, BBC News journalist from Tampa

It rains heavily here and the winds are strong.

I can see the palm trees shaking and sometimes branches falling.

Our team’s phones are also regularly ringing with emergency alerts, warning of the dangers of extreme winds and flooding in our area.

We are on higher ground, so we are less likely to be affected by hurricanes compared to other areas.

The main concern in the hotel where we stayed is that there is power outage at some point of time.

Most of the people living here are local residents of the low-lying areas; They just want to get it over with and see what they have to face tomorrow.

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