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Nearly 5,000 Florida National Guardsmen have mobilized in preparation for Hurricane Milton’s landfall, the National Guard Bureau said Tuesday.
These Guardsmen have equipment including 16 watercraft, 11 rotary-wing aircraft and more than 400 high-water vehicles, NGB added.
Milton is predicted to make landfall on Florida’s west coast late Wednesday, The Associated Press reported Tuesday, citing the National Hurricane Center’s Live Hurricane Tracker.
It is expected to be a Category 3 storm, AP continued, which have winds of 111-129 mph.
Milton is threatening the Tampa, Florida, metro area, AP stated, which has a population of more than 3.3 million people.
The storm might retain hurricane strength as it then moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean, AP added.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine activated 40 Guardsmen from his state Monday to support Florida following Milton, per a press release from his office.
The Guardsmen are from the Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer, an Air Guard civil engineering unit based in Port Clinton, Ohio.
The 200th REDHORSE Squadron will assess support needs, clear storm debris from public places and provide other relief and recovery operations upon reaching Florida.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz signed an emergency executive order Monday authorizing a deployment of his state’s Guardsmen to Florida, per a press release from his office the same day.
The Minnesota Department of Public Safety Homeland Security and Emergency Management division is working with the Guard to determine what assistance Florida needs, Walz's office continued.
Florida requested assistance and support from first responders to manage widespread damage from Milton, Walz's office added, under the Emergency Management Assistance Compact.
The EMAC is a mutual aid agreement between all 50 states, Walz's office stated, where a requesting state asks for resources like people or equipment based on their needs.
Agencies in other states that have those resources can respond to a request, Walz's office continued, but are under no obligation to participate.
Five soldiers from the New Hampshire Guard are additionally deploying to Florida this week before Milton’s landfall, The Concord Monitor reported Monday.
These Guardsmen will head to Camp Blanding in Florida’s northeast corner, The Monitor continued.
They will serve as a "logistics hub" for Florida’s other state services and aid throughout Milton and in the storm’s aftermath, the publication added.
Milton comes after Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region Sept. 26.
Helene struck the Southeastern United States, damaging areas from Florida’s Gulf Coast to Virginia’s Appalachian Mountains.
As of Tuesday, nearly 5,000 Army and Air Guardsmen from 19 states were actively engaged in response and recovery efforts for Helene, NGB noted.
This total included Guardsmen in Helene’s disaster zone, NGB continued, along with personnel from outside the storm’s disaster zone.
The Guard’s Helene response also featured almost 1,100 military vehicles, 50 rotary-wing aircraft and 16 watercraft as of Tuesday, NGB stated.
Fixed-wing aircraft were additionally part of the Guard’s Helene response, NGB added, citing C-17 Globemasters which were transporting supplies when needed.
As of Tuesday, Guardsmen were supporting state and local emergency management officials in response to requests related to Helene, according to NGB.
They were also engaged in highwater rescues, presence patrols, debris clearance and transporting disaster relief supplies and personnel, per NGB.
Guardsmen were additionally distributing aid to people impacted by Helene, NGB added, plus conducting search and rescues, clearing routes and other tasks as needed.
Helene killed at least 230 people moving from Florida to the Carolinas, AP reported.
The White House said Monday the Federal Emergency Management Administration had 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water to deploy as needed due to Helene and Milton.
— By Mark Hensch
