Gov. DeSantis warns Floridians to prepare for ‘a lot of power outages’ ahead of Hurricane Milton

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Governor Ron DeSantis on Sunday urged Floridians to prepare for significant power outages and other potential impacts as Hurricane Milton intensifies, with forecasts predicting it will strengthen into a major hurricane before making landfall on Florida’s west coast.

READ: Tropical Storm Milton to bring significant impacts to Northeast Florida, Southeast Georiga midweek

Speaking at a news conference in Tallahassee, DeSantis stressed that Floridians need to be ready for widespread power outages, potentially worse than those caused by Hurricane Helene, which left 2.3 million residents without electricity.

“If you’re anywhere near that cone, certainly you should prepare to have power interruptions,” DeSantis said.

State resources, including high-water rescue vehicles, have been deployed to areas along Florida’s west coast, specifically Hillsborough and Pinellas counties, where current models predict Milton will make landfall. DeSantis also directed state personnel to assist local entities as they continue debris removal efforts from Hurricane Helene.

“It’s important for all our local communities and local governments to continue with the debris removal over the next particularly 48 hours,” DeSantis said. “You have round-the-clock access to these dump sites we need to clear, work together to clear as much debris as possible.”

You can watch the full update from Gov. DeSantis below by clicking/tapping play below:

Hurricane Storm Milton Expected to Strengthen

Hurricane Storm Milton is expected to become a major hurricane later this week as it moves eastward toward the Florida Peninsula. Hurricane and storm surge watches are anticipated to be issued for the west coast of Florida, and while the exact track remains uncertain, DeSantis stressed that the threat is serious. “Impact along the west coast of Florida is imminent,” he said.

DeSantis also warned of potential storm surge, particularly in the Tampa Bay area. “If the Tampa Bay is on the dirty side of the storm, it’s likely to generate storm surge in excess of what Helene did,” he explained. “If the storm is further south and Tampa Bay is on the weak side, it may be that the storm pulls water out of Tampa Bay. So there’s a wide range of possibilities that can happen there.”

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State of Emergency Expanded to 51 Counties

On Saturday, DeSantis declared a state of emergency in 35 counties in preparation for Milton. By Sunday morning, he expanded the declaration to include 51 counties. The counties under the state of emergency now include:

Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Brevard, Broward, Charlotte, Citrus, Clay, Collier, Columbia, DeSoto, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Gilchrist, Glades, Hamilton, Hardee, Hendry, Hernando, Highlands, Hillsborough, Indian River, Lafayette, Lake, Lee, Levy, Madison, Manatee, Marion, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Nassau, Okeechobee, Orange, Osceola, Palm Beach, Pasco, Pinellas, Polk, Putnam, Sarasota, Seminole, St. Johns, St. Lucie, Sumter, Suwanee, Taylor, Union, and Volusia counties.

With Hurricane Milton expected to rapidly intensify, DeSantis urged Floridians to monitor weather reports closely, make necessary preparations, and follow the guidance of local authorities and news stations.

Action News Jax will provide ongoing updates as the situation develops.

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