US: Hurricane Milton with winds of 209km/h will make landfall in Florida

Hurricane Milton, with winds of up to 209km/h, is expected to make landfall in Florida, USA, on the night of October 9 (local time). This is the second major storm to hit the area in just 2 weeks.

Sandbags are prepared to respond to Hurricane Milton in Florida, USA. Photo: AA/TTXVN

Hurricane Milton has weakened slightly to a Category 4 storm, the second-highest on the US's five-tier hurricane rating system, according to the US National Hurricane Center.

However, the storm's coverage has increased significantly and the storm is expected to bring heavy winds and rain, with waves reaching 4.5m when it makes landfall between 9 and 11pm local time.

The National Weather Service issued 90 tornado warnings on October 9, a record for a single day, and at least 11 tornadoes were reported in Florida that day.

The storm is expected to hit the southwest coast of Florida and could wreak havoc in areas already reeling from Hurricane Helene nearly two weeks ago. Nearly the entire west coast of Florida is under a hurricane warning, with more than 1 million people ordered to evacuate and power outages expected to last for days.

More than 30,000 Floridians are currently in hurricane shelters, and these sites can accommodate more than 200,000 people, according to state Governor Ron DeSantis.

US President Joe Biden has canceled his trip to Angola and Germany to focus on responding to Hurricane Milton. President Biden previously approved the request of the Governor of Florida to declare a federal emergency for Hurricane Milton. President Biden called Milton the storm of the century and urged everyone in the storm's path to comply with evacuation orders.

President Biden said he has spoken to the governors and mayors of the affected cities and pledged all resources needed to respond to the storm. President Biden also said his administration will press companies to continue to stabilize the prices of gasoline, airfares and essential items for people.

In addition to 1,000 federal personnel in Florida, the Biden administration has deployed 1,200 search and rescue personnel from federal agencies, 500 ambulances, 30 amphibious vehicles, helicopters and boats for rescue efforts.

At least six airports in Florida have closed and nearly 2,000 flights have been canceled.

According to VOV.VN

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/my-bao-milton-voi-suc-gio-209kmgio-se-do-bo-vao-bang-florida-post762924.html