Hurricane Milton has weakened further and is now a Category 1 hurricane, according to the US National Hurricane Center’s latest advisory.
The storm hit Florida as a Category 3 last night after its battering winds weakened from a Category 5 as it left over three million homes and businesses without power and killed at least four people.
Local officials- including Florida Governor Ron DeSantis-say that flooding has not been as bad as had been feared -and more storm surges are expected on Thursday afternoon-but residents are being told to continue to stay away, they said.
Hurricane pounded cities with its ferocious winds and rain, whipping up a barrage of tornadoes and forcing hundreds of thousands of coastal residents to evacuate inland.
The storm came less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the region, which has not suffered a direct hurricane strike in more than 100 years.
Several ports on the Florida Gulf coast have reopened their ports to vessels as Milton sailed through. Some of the reopened ports include Panama City, St. Joe, and Key West, according to reports from the US Coast Guard.
Florida medical manufacturer says factory undamaged after storm
The company, one of the major producers of intravenous fluids, said its factory and distribution center in Florida were not damaged.
The company, bracing for the storm, announced Wednesday that it was closing its factory in Florida and evacuating its intravenous bags.
Those fluids, critical in emergency care, already were in short supply after Hurricane Helene forced another health care firm, Baxter International, to close a North Carolina factory that provides about 60 percent of the country’s IV fluid.
US hospitals consume over two million IV bags daily to hydrate patients as well as administer medicines, among others.
Stay indoors and off the roads’: US president Biden
US President Joe Biden issued an appeal to all people affected by Milton, asking them to shelter in and avoid using the roads.
“Help is on the way, but till it arrives, shelter in place until your local officials say it’s safe to go out,” said the president via his social media post.
In this community, just on the outskirts of Tampa, people appear to have been spared through and large. There have been near misses, with trees toppling just inches away from homes. There is some standing water and minimal flooding.
But some of the coastal communities where the storm made landfall – such as Siesta Key in Sarasota county – are still out of reach.
They’re without power. And the bridges that link them to the mainland are knocked out of commission by debris. Rescues have been going on, with at least 50 people saved, said Florida’s governor. The rescues are continuing hour after hour with 6,500 soldiers on the ground taking part in it.
The biggest fear was the storm surge in Tampa. This was perceived to be less than what the experts are now predicting, though it’s too early to determine as damage assessment continues.
Said Local Police Chief Rex Troche, “The damage from Milton doesn’t appear to be as bad as had been feared, but the city of Sarasota warned that further storm surges were expected on Thursday afternoon.
Troche urged residents not to return. “The situation’s not safe yet, so please, if you don’t have to go back, don’t,” he said.
My ask is please don’t rush home right now, we’re still trying to assess what’s going on,” Troche said. “We still have downed power lines, we still have trees in the roadway.”.
“By releasing so many greenhouse gases, carbon-containing gases into the atmosphere that trap more heat by the surface, most of that heat goes into the ocean,” said Francis. “And so what we’re seeing is, all across the north Atlantic and especially the Gulf of Mexico – where these storms are formed – the [water] temperatures are record-breaking right now.”