Hurricane Milton is a Category 5. Evacuation orders for Florida

Bellaire Beach, Fla. (AP) — Milton strengthened rapidly in the Gulf of Mexico on Monday and is on track to become a Category 5 hurricane. Towards FloridaA dangerous storm surge threatened in Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders and adding more urgency to the cleanup from Hurricane Helen. Swamped the same coastal area Two weeks ago.

A hurricane warning has been issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, and much of Florida’s west coast remains under a hurricane and storm surge watch. Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, which often floods during severe storms, was also under a hurricane watch.

“This is the real deal with Milton,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor said at a news conference. “If you’re willing to accept Mother Nature, she wins 100% of the time.”

Milton was expected to rapidly intensify into a major hurricane in the eastern Gulf on Monday. It had maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (257 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center. The storm’s center was about 130 miles (210 kilometers) west-northwest of Progreso, Mexico, and about 720 miles (1,160 kilometers) southwest of Tampa on Monday afternoon, moving east-southeast at 9 mph (15 kph).

Its center may come ashore on Wednesday Tampa Bay area, and will become a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. This will save other states a lot Destroyed by HelenIt killed at least 230 people in its path from Florida Appalachian Mountains.

The Tampa Bay area is still recovering from Helen and its powerful surge. Twelve people died, with the worst damage to a string of barrier islands from St. Petersburg to Clearwater.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Monday that Helen’s messes must be cleared ahead of Milton’s arrival so they don’t become projectiles. More than 300 vehicles picked up the garbage on Sunday but faced a locked landfill gate when they tried to unload it. State troopers used a rope tied to a pickup truck to break it open, DeSantis said.

“We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape,” DeSantis said.

Lifeguards in Pinellas County, on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay, removed beach chairs and other items that could be blown away by strong winds. Elsewhere, piles of stoves, chairs, refrigerators and kitchen tables awaited.

Pellier Beach resident Sarah Steslicki said she was frustrated that more trash wasn’t being picked up sooner.

“They were hanging around and not picking up trash, and now they’re scrambling to pick it up,” Steslicki said Monday morning. “If it hits, it’s going to be flying missiles. Things will float in the air and fly away.

Hillsborough County, home to Tampa, ordered the evacuation of areas along Tampa Bay and all mobile and manufactured homes by Tuesday night.

“Yes, it stinks. We know that, and it comes down to the fact that many of us are still recovering from Hurricane Helen,” said Sheriff Chad Chronister. “But if you protect your family, you will live.”

Milton’s approach evoked memories of 2017’s Hurricane Irma, when about 7 million people were urged to evacuate Florida, gridlocked highways and clogged gas stations. Some left He vowed never to vacate again.

Although Tanya Marunczak’s Bellaire Beach home was flooded by 4 feet (1.2 meters) of water from Helen, she and her husband didn’t know whether they would have to leave Monday morning. She wanted to leave, but her husband thought their three-story house was sturdy enough to hold Milton.

“We lost all our cars, all our furniture; The first floor was completely destroyed,” Marunchak said. “This is the weirdest weather predicament ever.”

If residents don’t leave, it can endanger first responders or make rescue impossible: “If you stay there, you could die, and my men and women could die trying to rescue you,” said Hillsborough Fire Rescue Chief Jason Dougherty.

The University of Central Florida in Orlando said it would close midweek, but Walt Disney World said it was operating normally for now.

All road tolls in West Central Florida have been discontinued. St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport said it will close after the last flight on Tuesday, and Tampa International Airport plans to suspend airline and cargo flights beginning Tuesday morning.

All classes and school activities in Pinellas County, home to St. Petersburg, were closed Monday through Wednesday, and schools were turned into shelters. Officials in Tampa freed up city garages to residents in hopes of protecting their cars from flooding.

The coastal Mexican state of Yucatan canceled classes along the coast after forecasters predicted Milton would brush the northern part of the state. Among the cancellations were densely populated Gulf Coast cities such as Progresso; Capital, Merida; and the natural protected area of ​​Celestun, known for its flamingos.

It’s been two decades since so many storms hit Florida in such a short period of time. In 2004, an unprecedented five storms hit Florida within six weeks, including three hurricanes that hit Central Florida.

Although Tampa hasn’t been hit directly by a hurricane in more than a century, other parts of Florida’s Gulf Coast have been recovering from such storms in the past two years. The Fort Myers area in southwest Florida is still rebuilding from Hurricane Ian, which caused $112 billion in damage in 2022. Three hurricanes have hit Florida’s Big Bend region in just 13 months, including Helen.

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Schneider reported from Orlando. Associated Press writer Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee contributed to this report.