Federal officials urged people along Florida’s Gulf Coast on Monday to move quickly ahead of the powerful winds and storm surge expected from Hurricane Milton.
The hurricane is expected to hit the coast Wednesday night. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has positioned resources across western Florida in preparation for life-threatening winds and flooding. The agency has over 900 staff on the ground in Florida prepared for the response and is authorized and funded to act in 51 Florida counties.
The threat from Hurricane Milton looms as FEMA contends with major cleanup efforts in both Florida and further north in the Appalachian Mountains region, which were walloped less than two weeks ago by Hurricane Helene. Agency leaders said Monday that they have the funding and personnel to deal with both disasters and will not be diverting any resources away from the Helene cleanup.
Still, Keith Turi, FEMA’s acting associate administrator for response and recovery, noted that the back-to-back hurricanes hitting Florida’s west coast poses challenges when it comes to dealing with debris — such as the material left outside as part of the Helene cleanup — and residents’ evacuation preparations.