TAMPA
Florida braced Tuesday for a direct hit from Hurricane Milton, a massive storm system poised to cause devastating damage and prompting President Joe Biden to delay an overseas trip. As the second major hurricane in two weeks barreled toward the state’s west coast, anxiety grew as residents rushed to board up homes and evacuate.
“This is a matter of life and death, and that’s not an exaggeration,” Biden warned, urging those in evacuation zones to “evacuate now, now, now.”
Biden’s appeal came amidst a heated pre-election dispute, with his Democratic vice president, Kamala Harris, accusing rival Donald Trump of spreading false claims that recovery efforts from the first storm, Hurricane Helene, were diverted away from Republican areas.
As of Tuesday morning, Milton was packing maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph) and threatening storm surges up to 15 feet, according to the National Hurricane Center.