As Milton Bears Down, the Entire State of Florida is on High Alert

As Milton Bears Down, the Entire State of Florida is on High Alert

Despite repeated tropical storms, the nation’s third most populous state continues to attract more newcomers and sees no end to development.

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By Patricia Mazzei

Reporting from Sarasota, Fla.

Hurricane Milton threatened nearly the entire state of Florida as it blew in from the Gulf of Mexico on Wednesday, yet another case of a menacing storm putting many, if not most, of the state’s 23 million residents on high alert.

As with previous storms, including Hurricane Ian in 2022 and Hurricane Irma in 2017, Milton posed dangers to the state’s Atlantic coast as well as its Gulf Coast, where it is expected to come ashore — a daunting prospect even for a state unhappily used to extreme weather.

By Wednesday afternoon, many hours before Milton was forecast to make landfall in the Sarasota area, tornadoes had developed in Fort Myers, to the south, and in areas as far as Miami, on the other side of the state. Hurricane warnings were in effect for counties in northeast Florida. People were boarding up homes in Orlando, nearly smack in the middle of the state. The Panhandle was likely the only region that would be spared any effects.

It is an extraordinary circumstance for the nation’s third most populous state to find itself in, as it continues to fill with more newcomers every day and sees no end to development.

“Just make sure that if you are on the east coast of Florida, that you understand this is not just a west coast event,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Wednesday. He called the deployment of personnel and resources ahead of the storm the largest in the state’s history.

For many Floridians, as the storm drew near, life came more or less to a standstill. With 51 of 67 counties under a state of emergency, schools canceled classes up and down the peninsula. Airports, seaports and theme parks — including some of the busiest in the nation — closed. About 5.5 million people faced mandatory evacuation orders.

Avoiding Milton seemed impossible for Floridians.

Making matters worse: Florida was recovering from Hurricane Helene, a large, Category 4 storm that struck two weeks ago. Though Helene came ashore in the sparsely populated Big Bend region, its destructive storm surge caused significant damage to homes and businesses on barrier islands and in other coastal and low-lying areas up and down the Gulf Coast.

More on Hurricane Milton

• Florida on High Alert: Hurricane Milton threatened nearly the entire state as it blew in from the Gulf of Mexico, yet another case of a menacing storm putting many of Florida’s 23 million residents in danger.
• Some Inmates Will Not Evacuate: Manatee County, just south of Tampa, has ordered residents in three evacuation zones to get out. But the inmates and staff of the county jail will stay put.
• Can Electric Vehicles Catch Fire in Hurricanes?: E.V. batteries that are submerged in saltwater can catch fire after the floods subside, but experts say it’s a rarity.
• FEMA’s Severe Staffing Shortage: Fewer than 10% of the agency’s disaster workers are available to respond to Hurricane Milton and other calamities.