Residents Flee FL Ahead of Milton      10/09 06:02

   Fearful Florida residents streamed out of the Tampa Bay region Tuesday ahead 
of what could be a once-in-a-century direct hit from Hurricane Milton, as crews 
worked furiously to prevent furniture, appliances and other waterlogged 
wreckage from the last big storm from becoming deadly projectiles in this one.

   TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Fearful Florida residents streamed out of the Tampa Bay 
region Tuesday ahead of what could be a once-in-a-century direct hit from 
Hurricane Milton, as crews worked furiously to prevent furniture, appliances 
and other waterlogged wreckage from the last big storm from becoming deadly 
projectiles in this one.

   Tuesday marked the last chance for millions of people in the Tampa metro 
area to prepare for lethal storm surges, ferocious winds and possible tornadoes 
in a place that has narrowly avoided a head-on blow from a major storm for 
generations.

   "Today's the last day to get ready," said Craig Fugate, a former FEMA 
director who previously ran the state's emergency operation division. "This is 
bringing everything."

   Gov. Ron DeSantis said the state deployed over 300 dump trucks that had 
removed 1,300 loads of debris left behind by Hurricane Helene by Tuesday 
afternoon. In Clearwater Beach, Nick Szabo spent a second long day hauling away 
3-foot (0.9-meter) piles of soggy mattresses, couches and drywall after being 
hired by a local resident who was eager to help clear the roads and unwilling 
to wait for overwhelmed city contractors.

   "All this crap is going to be missiles," he said. "It's like a spear coming 
at you."

   Residents evacuate as Milton regains strength

   After weakening slightly, Milton regained strength Tuesday afternoon and 
became a Category 5 storm again, with winds of 160 mph (260 kph). It could make 
landfall Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, which has a population of more 
than 3.3 million people. The 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation 
orders are home to about 5.9 million people, according to estimates from the 
U.S. Census Bureau.

   Fluctuations in the storm's intensity are likely while Milton moves across 
the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said, but it is expected to 
be a dangerous storm when it reaches Florida.

   Milton's forecasted trajectory also wobbled slightly Tuesday, which means it 
could make landfall Wednesday in the less populated areas a bit south of Tampa 
Bay, according to the center.

   Still, the whole region is expected to get slammed by the storm.

   It is difficult to predict an exact landfall location even about a day 
before it's expected to come ashore. Predictions can be off by a little over 60 
miles (96 kilometers), the hurricane center said.

   Those who defy evacuations orders are on their own, and first responders are 
not expected to risk their lives to rescue them at the height of the storm.

   "You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away," DeSantis told a 
news conference, assuring residents there would be enough gasoline to fuel 
their cars for the trip. "You can evacuate tens of miles. You do not have to 
evacuate hundreds of miles away."

   Milton is forecast to cross central Florida and to dump as much as 18 inches 
(46 centimeters) of rain while heading toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to 
the hurricane center. That path would largely spare other states ravaged by 
Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the 
Carolinas.

   Tampa prepares for possible historic storm fueled by warming waters

   The arrival of back-to-back hurricanes that rapidly intensified into mighty 
storms comes as climate change exacerbates conditions that are allowing them to 
thrive in warming waters. Milton is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic 
hurricane season, which started June 1.

   Most of Florida's west coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning 
as the system spun just off Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula, creeping toward shore 
and sucking energy from the Gulf of Mexico's warm waters. Hurricane warnings 
were extended early Tuesday to parts of the state's east coast.

   Tampa Bay has not been hit directly by a major hurricane since 1921, and 
authorities fear its luck is about to run out. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued 
increasingly dire warnings, noting that a 15-foot (4.5-meter) surge could 
swallow an entire house.

   "So if you're in it, basically that's the coffin that you're in," she said.

   There's no good recent example of how bad it could be because even historic 
hurricanes such as Andrew, Harvey and Katrina did not actually directly hit a 
major metropolitan area. They were all to the side, said University of Miami 
hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy.

   "It's hard to see places coming out of this very well," McNoldy said. "If 
it's not the worst case ... even the next worst case is very bad."

   Fuel lines, missed flights and heavy traffic

   In Riverview, south of Tampa, several drivers waiting in a long line for 
fuel Tuesday morning said they had no plans to evacuate.

   "I think we'll just hang, you know -- tough it out," said Martin Oakes, of 
nearby Apollo Beach. "We got shutters up. The house is all ready. So this is 
sort of the last piece of the puzzle."

   Ralph Douglas, who lives in neighboring Ruskin, said he, too, will stay put, 
in part because he worries about running out of gas trying to return after the 
storm or getting blocked by debris.

   "Where I'm at right now, I don't think I need to evacuate," he said.

   At the Tampa airport, John Fedor and his wife were trying to catch a cab to 
a storm shelter after missing multiple flights home to Philadelphia. They had 
hoped taking a Caribbean cruise would bring them closer, but tensions were 
rising after they spent nearly $1,000 on unplanned transportation and hotel 
rooms due to travel delays. After a 2-mile (3.2-kilometer) walk to the airport, 
Fedor's suitcase cracked open and the wheels broke. They considered driving 
home or taking a train, but nothing worked out.

   "We're kind of like stranded here," Fedor said.

   President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and the 
White House announced Tuesday that he would postpone a trip to Germany and 
Angola to monitor the storm.

   "This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century," Biden told 
reporters. "God willing it won't be. But that's what it's looking like right 
now."

   The Federal Emergency Management Agency has almost 900 staff members in the 
region and has stocked two staging areas with 20 million meals and 40 million 
liters of water, the White House said.

   Stragglers were a problem during Helene and Ian in 2022. Many residents said 
they evacuated during previous storms only to have major surges not 
materialize. But there was evidence Tuesday that people were heeding the 
warnings to get out before Milton arrives.

   The Florida Highway Patrol reported heavy traffic northbound and eastbound 
on all roadways and said state troopers were escorting fuel tankers to assist 
with gasoline delivery.

   About 150 miles (240 kilometers) south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was nearly 
a ghost town. Ian devastated the community two years ago with its 15-foot 
(4.5-meter) storm surge. Fourteen people died there. On Tuesday, the nearby 
Callosahatchee River was already choppy, slapping hard against the sea wall.