As Florida prepares for Hurricane Milton’s violent winds and massive flooding, the state also is contending with a unique danger — debris left by Hurricane Helene that officials fear will become lethal or damaging missiles.
Florida is taking unprecedented steps to clear streets and parks of appliances, furniture, splintered houses and tree limbs before the arrival of Milton, which is projected to hit the Tampa area on Wednesday evening as a Category 4 storm.
“We’ve just got to get the debris gone so those do not become projectiles when this storm makes landfall,” Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis said in a TV interview Tuesday referring to Hurricane Milton.
Gov. Ron DeSantis has ordered local landfills to remain open around the clock, over the objections of some local officials. Florida Highway Patrol drones are helping cleanup crews in the Tampa Bay area. The state Department of Environmental Protection has given emergency authorization for the establishment of 218 temporary debris-storage sites.
