Floridians Scurry to Prepare for Second Hurricane Hit in Two Weeks

Residents brace for Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall near Tampa as a Category 3 storm before blazing a projected path across the state aIong Interstate 4.

Workers board a window in Tampa, Fla., on Oct. 8, 2024, ahead of Hurricane Milton's expected landfall. Miguel J. Rodriguez Carrillo/AFP via Getty Images

Floridians were scurrying on Oct. 8 to prepare for a second devastating hit in as many weeks. But this time they expected a storm unlike any the hurricane-hardened residents in the central swath of the state have seen in 20 years.

With Hurricane Milton barreling toward a projected Tampa Bay-area landfall—the first in a century—residents in coastal evacuation zones still inundated by Hurricane Helene’s sideswipe were being urged to flee.