In a hurry? Here’s what you need to know about Hurricane Milton in less than a minute. Want more details?
Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend, the state is getting ready for another hit from what may be another major hurricane.
Hurricane Milton is approaching Florida’s West Coast and currently is expected to make landfall between Wednesday afternoon or Thursday morning. Rapid intensification is expected and Milton could be a Category 4 hurricane at landfall.
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Milton is expected to bring life-threatening storm surge, flooding rainfall and damaging winds to much of the state. Milton is expected to cross Florida, emerging into the Atlantic as a hurricane.
51 Florida counties under state of emergency
Fifty-one of Florida’s 67 counties are under a state of emergency: 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.
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Florida schools closed due to Hurricane Milton
Several schools, colleges and universities have announced they’ll be closed in anticipation of Hurricane Milton.
‘Significant’ number of people expected to evacuate
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says there’s still much uncertainty about Hurricane Milton, but the state is preparing to open highway shoulders for mass evacuations to come.
Individual counties make evacuation calls. “Once those orders come down from all the counties, I think it’s going to be a significant number of people,” DeSantis said.
The Florida Department of Transportation is monitoring traffic, and as soon as travel speeds are down to 40 mph, the state will begin to open shoulders for travel to relieve congestion, according to state Transportation Secretary Jared Perdue.
Interactive map: Traffic cameras allow you to monitor highway conditions to avoid gridlock
Do you live in an evacuation zone? Know your flood zone
The Florida Division of Emergency Management has a website to determine whether you live in an evacuation zone and what zone it is.
Go to the website and enter your address. If your home is in one of the colored areas, those are flood zones where you may be asked to evacuate by local officials.
Typically, Zone A is the most vulnerable and the most likely to be asked to evacuate first. Zone F is most likely to evacuate last.
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This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Hurricane Milton: Florida traffic map, cameras as people evacuate
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