Biden says Hurricane Milton could be ‘worst storm to hit Florida in over a century’

President Biden is warning Tuesday that Hurricane Milton “could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century.” 

The Category 4 hurricane is currently located off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula and is forecast to make landfall Wednesday night in the Tampa area along Florida’s west coast, bringing devastating winds and storm surge. 

“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century. And God willing, it won’t be,” Biden said. “But that’s what it’s looking like right now.” 

“I have urged everyone currently located in Hurricane Milton’s path to listen to local officials and follow safety instructions… if you’re under evacuation orders, you should evacuate now,” Biden added. “It’s a matter of life and death – and that is not hyperbole – it is a matter of life and death.” 

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Biden says he spoke to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Tampa Mayor Jane Castor last night and “made it clear to them they should reach out, including to me directly, with everything else they may need as they see this storm hit.” 

The president says DeSantis has informed him that “he’s gotten all that he needs” following the passage of Hurricane Helene through Florida and ahead of Hurricane Milton. 

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“And while we prepare for Hurricane Milton, we’re still surging resources in North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, Tennessee to respond to Hurricane Helene,” Biden said. “And it’s real. The impact is still there. And we’re not going to leave until the job is done. It’s going to take time and before it’s all over it’s going to take tens of billions of dollars to get it done.” 

Biden, who has canceled a planned trip to Germany and Angola because of Milton, says he “sent FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell down to Florida yesterday to work intensively with the state and local partners as we prepare to deploy more resources.” 

FEMA, he says, has provided 300 ambulances to move people who can’t move themselves out of health care facilities. 

Biden said Hurricane Milton has the potential to “both enter Florida as a hurricane and leave Florida as a hurricane on the Atlantic coast.”