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   Half a million people could be ordered to evacuate in Pinellas County   
   Governor warns of higher storm surge, more destruction   
   Biden orders 500 more troops to assist Helene recovery   
      
   Oct 6 (Reuters) - Florida prepared on Sunday for its largest evacuation   
   since 2017 as Hurricane Milton intensified in the Gulf of Mexico on its   
   path toward the U.S. state's western coast, coming on the heels of the   
   devastating Hurricane Helene.   
      
   Milton, which strengthened from a tropical storm to hurricane on Sunday,   
   was projected to make landfall on Wednesday as a major hurricane, likely   
   hitting near the heavily populated Tampa Bay area, the U.S. National   
   Hurricane Center said.   
      
   The new hurricane was expected to affect areas already hit hard by   
   Helene, which made landfall further north on Sept. 26.   
      
   Kevin Guthrie, director of Florida's emergency management division,   
   urged people to prepare for the "largest evacuation that we have seen   
   most likely since 2017 Hurricane Irma."   
      
   "I highly encourage you to evacuate," Guthrie told Floridians in a press   
   conference.   
      
   Milton was about 780 miles (1,255 km) west-southwest of Tampa as of 7   
   p.m. EDT on Sunday (0000 GMT on Monday), packing maximum sustained winds   
   of 85 mph (140 km) and moving to the east toward Florida at 7 mph (11   
   kph), the National Hurricane Center said.   
      
   A hurricane watch was in effect for the northern coast of Mexico's   
   Yucatan Peninsula.   
      
   The wind speed made it a Category 1 on the five-step Saffir-Simpson   
   scale, though it was likely to be upgraded. The private forecaster   
   AccuWeather expected it would rate a 4 out of 5 on its own scale,   
   capable of widespread catastrophic flooding.   
      
   Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned of a potentially higher storm surge   
   and more power outages from Milton compared to Helene, and said   
   destruction from Helene could be compounded.   
      
   "There are some areas with a lot of debris that is there, so if you get   
   hit with a major hurricane, what's going to happen to that debris? It's   
   going to increase the damage dramatically," DeSantis said. "This is all   
   hands on deck to get that debris where it needs to be."   
      
   Pinellas County, which includes the city of St. Petersburg, on Monday   
   was likely to issue mandatory evacuations for more than 500,000 people   
   in the lowest lying areas, Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told a press conference.   
      
   He urged people to heed evacuation orders after he said too many ignored   
   them for Helene, resulting in 12 deaths in the county and 1,500   
   emergency calls that were unable to be answered.   
      
   The county already ordered the evacuation of six hospitals, 25 nursing   
   homes and 44 assisted living facilities totaling 6,600 patients, said   
   Cathie Perkins, director of the county's emergency management. School   
   was canceled from Monday to Wednesday.   
      
   "We already will be rebuilding for years because of Hurricane Helene,   
   and that will be exacerbated by the impacts of this storm," St.   
   Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch said. "Remember, Hurricane Helene was 100   
   miles (160 km) away from us, moving in a different direction. This is a   
   powerful Cat 2 or Cat 3 hurricane headed directly for us."   
      
   North Carolina, Florida and much of the South are still recovering from   
   the massive destruction caused by Helene, which killed more than 200   
   people across six states, making it the deadliest named storm to hit the   
   mainland U.S. since Hurricane Katrina killed nearly 1,400 people in 2005.   
      
   U.S. President Joe Biden said on Sunday he ordered another 500   
   active-duty troops to move into western North Carolina and assist with   
   the Helene response and recovery efforts, increasing the number to 1,500.   
   They join a massive state and local recovery effort plus 7,000 people   
   from the federal workforce and 6,100 National Guard personnel, the White   
   House said.   
      
   The Biden administration has approved $137 million in federal assistance   
   and promised more aid would be forthcoming, as the economic damage is   
   projected to soar into the billions of dollars.   
      
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   Reporting by Daniel Trotta in Carlsbad, California, and Bo Erickson in   
   Washington Editing by Colleen Jenkins, Cynthia Osterman, Will Dunham and   
   Aurora Ellis   
      
   https://www.reuters.com/world/us/another-major-storm-milton-due-   
   it-florida-heels-helene-2024-10-06/   
      
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