Florida Gov. DeSantis expands state of emergency ahead of Hurricane Milton strike
Gov. Ron DeSantis has expanded a state of emergency to 54 counties ahead of Hurricane Milton, which could bring Category 3 winds and surge, or worst, to the Florida peninsula.
Areas at the greatest risk are communities still reeling from last month’s Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Ian in 2022.
The state of emergency includes the following counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia counties.
THE LATEST
- Forecast: Milton could literally be a Florida storm of the century with a 'wall of water'
- Bracing: Florida preparing for mass evacuations before Milton, DeSantis says
- Now a Hurricane: Milton strengthens on track toward Florida as rains start falling Sunday
Milton is expected to rapidly intensify over the next 36 hours and could be a major Category 3 hurricane when it reaches the west coast of the Florida peninsula mid-week and brings the risk of life-threatening impacts to portions of the state's west coast, the National Hurricane Center said.
Ana Goñi-Lessan is a watchdog reporter for the Paste BN NETWORK - Florida. Email her at agonilessan@tallahassee.com
This story was updated to add a video.