Governor Ron DeSantis is urging Central Floridians to prepare for what is expected to become Hurricane Milton.
During a press conference on Sunday, DeSantis warned Milton could be an “I-4 storm,” meaning it could whip across Central Florida after making landfall on Florida’s West Coast.
He said storm preps should be finished by Tuesday at the latest, ahead of a Wednesday landfall.
“You're going to have the storm going right across, potentially I-4 or certainly in the center part of the state somehow, and that is going to cause damage. That's going to generate debris, it's going to cause potential damage to infrastructure. So just be prepared for that and do what you need to do to be able to execute your plan,” said DeSantis.
He said unlike with Hurricane Helene, Central Floridians should be prepared to weather hurricane-force winds and major power outages in our area.
Watch the governor's full press conference on Milton here:
“You are going to see a lot of power outages. I mean, that is just something that I think people should prepare for. We already have a lot of crews coming into the state of Florida. They're going to be staged in different parts of the state of Florida," said DeSantis.
DeSantis said people should plan ahead and have enough food and water for a few days without power.
Residents should also tie down anything in their yards that could become projectiles.
Fifty-one counties are now under his emergency declaration, ahead of Hurricane Milton. Every state agency asset has been deployed to do 24/7 debris cleanup ahead of the storm.
If you need a reminder of what to put in your hurricane kit, or need help finding your evacuation zone, click here for Central Florida Public Media's Hurricane Guide.
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