Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 monster, is barreling toward Florida. The residents of Tampa Bay, barely recovered from the devastating passage of “Hélène”, are experiencing moments of anguish as they see this new “historic” threat arriving.
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“For the majority of residents, two weeks ago, those who were not along the coast, the impact was still minor. But here, we are talking about a completely different story,” declared Luc Langevin, a Quebecer living in Tampa Bay, in an interview with LCN.
“Almost everything will be closed. We have already started to have a shortage of gasoline.”
“Everyone will be impacted,” he added. It’s not just sea levels that will rise. The level of the Gulf which will rise for those who stay along (the coast).”
The American Hurricane Center (NHC) on Monday elevated “Milton” to the highest of the scale, in category 5 (out of 5). The eye of the hurricane will bring significant amounts of rain and winds of up to 280 km/h.
The hurricane is heading toward the west coast of the Florida peninsula and could bring potentially “life-threatening” storm surge to Tampa Bay.
“If the trend, the trajectory continues, we will find ourselves with a direct impact (…) It is not the same level of stress as it was two weeks ago for the rest of us, for his part said Daniel Tremblay, real estate broker in Tampa Bay, in an interview on Mario Dumont’s show broadcast on LCN.
The situation is all the more critical as the region has not recovered from the passage of Helene. “The debris is still everywhere in the streets,” he added.
Evacuations in progress
The authorities have already ordered the evacuation of the coastal areas most at risk. “It’s really those who are on the coast,” added Mr. Langevin. It really has to be taken seriously, it’s something that we cannot control,” added Mr. Langevin.
Hurricane Milton is expected to hit the Florida coast on Wednesday or Thursday.
Tampa Bay residents are holding their breath, hoping the storm’s path will change at the last moment.
*This text, generated with the help of artificial intelligence, was reviewed and validated by our team based on two interviews carried out at LCN.
