Hurricane Milton Intensifies Threatening Florida After Yucatan Encounter

Hurricane Milton intensified “explosively” on Monday near Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula before its anticipated arrival in Florida, a state in the U.S. already affected by the destructive passage of Hurricane Helene in late September. The hurricane, deemed “potentially catastrophic,” is classified as a Category 5 storm, the highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson scale, with winds reaching up to 280 kilometers per hour, according to the United States National Hurricane Center.

Violent squalls are set to batter the Yucatan on Monday and Tuesday before hitting Florida in the southeastern United States “from Tuesday night or Wednesday,” along the Gulf of Mexico coast. In the Yucatan, workers have boarded up doors and windows, fishermen have brought their boats ashore, and local authorities have ordered the closure of schools and non-essential activities. Although the hurricane is not expected to make landfall in Mexico, “torrential rains and winds are anticipated,” warned the new president, Claudia Sheinbaum, on X, a social media platform.

In Florida, Milton has stirred considerable concern, less than two weeks following the particularly devastating impact of Hurricane Helene in the southeastern United States. On Treasure Island, a small island with a population of 6,500 in the Gulf of Mexico, David Levitsky is bracing for the storm’s arrival. “Last time, people’s cars were underwater here in the street […] but obviously this time the biggest problem for us will be the wind,” the 69-year-old retiree told AFP, as he attempted to protect his home with sandbags.

During a press conference on Monday, Florida’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, confirmed that Milton would remain a hurricane throughout its passage from the southwest to the northeast of Florida. On Sunday, he extended the state of emergency declared the previous day to 51 counties out of the state’s 67, the third most populated in the United States. “If anyone has the means to do so […] take to the road today,” urged Florida authorities. In Orlando, a city known for its many theme parks in the state’s center, hundreds of vehicles lined up under gray skies to receive sandbags.

“It is possible that we will evacuate, my animals and I,” Tony Carlson, 32, confessed to AFP as he piled sandbags into his vehicle, considering a move to Georgia, the neighboring state to the north, where his sister resides. Dominick Tucciarone, 29, has no plans to evacuate but admitted he was worried. “I am because it has been a long time since the eye of a hurricane passed over Orlando, and it’s growing in the gulf,” he told AFP.

Scientific research indicates that the warming of seas and oceans due to climate change increases the likelihood of rapid storm intensification, thus heightening the risks of more powerful hurricanes. North Atlantic temperatures have persistently hit record levels over the past year, significantly surpassing historical records, as per public data from the United States Meteorological Observatory. This observatory had warned in late May that the hurricane season, spanning from early June to late November, was expected to be extraordinary, with the potential for four to seven hurricanes of Category 3 or higher.

In the southeastern United States, rescue efforts continue to assist many victims of Hurricane Helene, the deadliest to strike the U.S. since Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Helene resulted in at least 230 fatalities across half a dozen southeastern states – including at least 15 in Florida – and caused destructive flooding. On Sunday, the President urged “all Florida residents to listen to local authorities and prepare accordingly.” Reaffirming his commitment to aid all affected southeastern regions “for as long as it takes,” he also announced the deployment of an additional 500 soldiers in North Carolina, the state most impacted by Hurricane Helene, with at least 120 deaths. In total, 1,500 soldiers have been mobilized, joining thousands of rescue workers and members of the National Guard, a reserve force.