Sawt Falasteen - Time running out in Florida to flee Hurricane Milton

Milton was downgraded by the US weather service from top-level Category 5 to a 4 early in the day.

However, that will not much change the ferocity of the wind and height of tidal surges inundating the heavily populated and low-lying coast, with the cities of Tampa and Sarasota right in the storm's expected path.

"I am nervous. This is something we just went through with the other storm -- ground saturated, still recovering from that," Sarasota resident Randy Prior, who owns a pool business, told AFP.

Prior, 36, says he plans to ride out the storm at home, after recently toughing out Hurricane Helene, which flooded the same west parts of Florida before wreaking havoc across remote areas of North Carolina and further inland.

"I own a business, so once the storm stops, I've got to be here, help clean up, get everything back to normal. But this one's a big one for sure."

Tampa resident Luis Santiago said he would "close up everything" and leave.

"Let's see how it turns out once I get back," he said.

Officials have repeatedly warned those in danger zones to seek safe shelter.

"You still have time to evacuate if you are in an evacuation zone," Florida Governor Ron DeSantis told a press briefing.

"This hurricane is going to pack a major, major punch and do an awful lot of damage."

But time was quickly running out.

By Wednesday morning, Milton was located 250 miles (400 kilometers) southwest of Tampa, generating maximum sustained winds of 155 mph (250 kph), according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

"Winds will begin to increase along the west coast of Florida by this afternoon," the NHC said. "Preparations, including evacuation if told to do so, should be rushed."

Airlines added flights out of Tampa, Orlando, Fort Myers and Sarasota, as highways clogged up with escaping traffic and gas station pumps ran dry.

Not all Floridians and tourists were hurrying to leave.

John Gomez, 75, traveled all the way from Chicago to try to save his Florida home.

"I think it's better to be here in case something happens," Gomez said.

At Walt Disney World in Orlando, which was expected to receive a big hit once Milton crosses the peninsula, visitors were getting a few rides in before the theme parks close shortly after midday.

"It's safe and we're here, so might as well," said Lindsay Moore, 42, who flew in from Hawaii over the weekend.

"We thought about canceling but airlines wouldn't let us."

- Election conspiracy theories -

President Joe Biden, who postponed a trip to Germany and Angola to oversee the federal storm response, gave a stark warning Tuesday.

"It's a matter of life and death," he said. "Evacuate now, now, now."

With the presidential election just weeks away, Donald Trump and some of his far-right Republican allies have turned the twin disasters of Hurricanes Helene and Milton into a political football.

Conspiracy theories about government involvement in the weather and disinformation about supposed failure by Democratic candidate Kamala Harris and the Biden administration to respond have spread rapidly.

"Western North Carolina, and the whole state, for that matter, has been totally and incompetently mismanaged by Harris/Biden," Trump said Wednesday on his Truth Social network.

"Hold on, and vote these horrible 'public servants' out of office."

Harris attacked Trump late Tuesday, asking: "Have you no empathy, man, for the suffering of other people?"

- Global warming factor -

Scientists say global warming has a role in intense storms as warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, providing additional energy for storms, which exacerbates their winds.

A report by the World Weather Attribution group published Wednesday said Hurricane Helene's torrential rain and powerful winds were made about 10 percent more intense due to climate change.

"The tragedy is that climate scientists have been warning of this for decades," said John Marsham, a professor at the University of Leeds.

Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Helene, which killed at least 235 people.

J.AbuHassan--SF-PST