Hurricane Milton "upgraded" to the strongest "monster" on the planet in 2024, Mayor of a city warned people "if you don't leave, you will die!"

Over the past 24 hours, Hurricane Milton has unexpectedly and rapidly intensified, becoming a Category 5 hurricane on the 5-level warning scale and is now on its way to sweeping across North America.

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in the US state of Florida on October 9. (Source: NY Post)

According to the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified to the highest level on the 5-category Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale less than 24 hours after forming in the Gulf of Mexico.

Milton now has winds of 285 km/h, combined with the atmospheric pressure in the storm has dropped to 897 millibars, making it one of the strongest storms ever recorded and approaching the historical threshold of being one of the strongest storms of all time in the region, "potentially catastrophic".

CNN quoted its hurricane expert Andy Hazleton as saying that super storm Milton has a historic and "unprecedented" rate of increase.

Although the storm is likely to weaken when it makes landfall in Florida on October 9th local time, it still poses a risk of strong winds, rain, and storm surges of 2.4-3.7 meters. County leaders along the state's west coast have urged residents to evacuate for safety.

Forecasts indicate that Hurricane Milton will make landfall near the major metropolitan area surrounding Tampa Bay, before sweeping across the Florida Peninsula. US President Joe Biden has declared a state of emergency for Florida, authorizing federal disaster relief and rescue operations.

In the expected storm center, the Tampa Bay area, 6 million residents have been warned about the storm and ordered to evacuate due to the risk of life-threatening storm surges.

The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay said that if it continues moving in its current direction, "this will be the worst storm to affect the Tampa area in over 100 years."

Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor urged residents to evacuate the city before Hurricane Milton struck, emphasizing: "I can say this without exaggeration: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation zones, you will die... 100%."

The official also stressed that she and any resident born and raised in Tampa Bay "have never seen this before."

Meanwhile, in Mexico, the National Meteorological Service (SMN) warned on the same day that Hurricane Milton could affect the coastal areas of Celestún and Progreso in Yucatán state by nightfall local time, and urged residents to take extreme precautions against storm damage and flooding.

The Mexican government has activated its emergency response plan to Hurricane Milton, assisting with evacuations and disaster prevention in the state of Yucatán.

Milton is the ninth hurricane of the Atlantic hurricane season so far this year and the second to strengthen to a Category 5 storm, following Hurricane Beryl which swept across the Americas in July.

Milton is currently ranked among the 10 strongest hurricanes ever recorded in the Atlantic, at number 9, after Katrina and Maria. Hurricane Allen in 1980 still holds the record as the strongest Atlantic hurricane with wind speeds reaching 305 km/h.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/my-bao-milton-thang-cap-thanh-tinh-trong-nam-2024-thi-truong-mot-thanh-pho-canh-bao-nguoi-dan-khong-di-se-chet-289307.html