Hurricane Milton

[KenAdams]

Couldn't see a thread for this in Weather.

This looks like it's going to be really bad. Helene has already caused enough devastion in the area and the poor people of Tampa are in for a lot more today.

Some people are refusing to evacuate from what I understand but the Mayor of Tampa has warned if you don't evacuate you die.

I can't imagine how scary it must be for them.

I'd imagine it's too late now. The storm is due to hit in a few hours. It's just heartbreaking. Those poor babies.

I still find it odd that there has been so little coverage of Helene just over a week ago. Comparing the coverage of Helene to the current coverage of Milton is quite odd.
The damage done by Helene is horrendous. There is still over 1000 people missing. Helene quite probably has a bigger fatality rate than Katrina did.
This may well end up being the worst hurricane season on record when looking at the number of fatalities.

The cynic in me wonders if it's because the areas hardest hit by Helene are relatively unknown to the British. There's no Disney World in South Carolina 🙄

Twitter would put it down to the lack of help by FEMA.

itwasnevermine well, yes, but the camera crew were there and presumably then withdrew to safety. Very sad that social services, or whatever they have, can't take those children away.

In any other situation, deliberately putting a child in a position where they are likely to die would be neglect.

Believing a god might save them is just ridiculous and should not be foisted on a child.

@crackofdoom apparently there's not been an awful lot of coverage in the states either. But yes perhaps the fact that Florida is a holiday destination has played a part.

Look at the angle of approach and the angle of the Tampa Bay area. Its not a great development. Even if its slightly to the south of Tampa.

My son and his young family live in St. Petersburg, Florida, just off of Tampa Bay Ground 0). I can no longer reach him. They were planning to evacuate, but I don't know. Needless to say, I'm a bit frantic.

Really hope they have managed to evacuate safely and you hear from them soon.

Oh I hope you hear very soon. You must be so worried.

Apologies if of piste but wondering if this type of hurricane was to hit a Caribbean island how would they evacuate?! Do they have procedure to get everyone off an island or not possible

Oh you must be so worried. They are probably evacuated or preparing to their house though so they're likely just busy and will be in contact soon. Thinking of you.

Evacuation of an island would be very nearly impossible. They would, as they have been doing, head for the highest ground possible, and hunker down. Have been watching this happen for decades. I've spent most of my life on either the Atlantic or the Gulf of Mexico coasts of the USA, so hurricane watching/tracking is almost built-in now.

Unfortunately they can't get everyone off islands when this happens. Some islands in the South Pacific are so low lying they're a tsunami away from being no more. It's a scary situation.

The photographs from the space station are something to behold.

Thinking of you. Most likely they are evacuating and busy driving /saving phone battery. I hope they update you soon

The mad thing is with the elnino year the hurricanes are supposed to die down on that side arent they? Christ knows what next year will bring.

There are STILL people on that Key West webcam.

I think I saw an alligator swim down the street on one feed.

There's a kite surfer on Sanibel 🤯

Florida has had 90 tornado warnings in a single day... Milton has doubled its geographic size in 24 hours. They are expecting winds of up to 208 km/h when it reaches the coast...

I sincerely hope nobody in its path has stayed at home.

Lots of power cuts in that area at the moment. Could mean loss of mobile signal too.

I felt sure the two young boys standing on the wall were going to get washed away and presumably their mother, was just standing there 🤦‍♀️

That was my thought. Although THEY have solar power, and very well secured, doesn't mean that the towers are powered, and I am sure that a lot of them are down entirely.

My friend is at home. They are in the path but not in an evacuation zone. The path is basically across the most populated areas of Florida. You wouldn't be able to evacuate that many people.