Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava announced the voluntary evacuation of mobile home parks and medically vulnerable residents "out of an abundance of caution" Monday as Hurricane Milton intensified explosively into a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico.
Miami-Dade is also under a local state of emergency that was declared by Levine Cava on Sunday for Milton.
Milton is on a path toward Florida, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay, leading to evacuation orders and long gas lines, and lending more urgency to the cleanup from Hurricane Helene, which swamped the same stretch of coastline less than two weeks ago.
But it's also expected to bring some impacts to South Florida.
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"The likely impacts to Miami-Dade County include substantial rain, localized flooding and the possibility of sustained tropical storm force winds starting as early as tomorrow night, Tuesday," Levine Cava said.
According to the county, there are two kinds of emergency evacuation instructions:
- Evacuation recommendation: The Mayor may recommend that certain residents take steps to evacuate due to their personal risk. A recommendation might be issued to residents who may need extra time to evacuate due to mobility challenges or people who live in areas prone to flooding that may not be in storm surge inundation areas.
- Evacuation order: The Mayor may order residents of specific areas of the county deemed to be in danger, based on a hurricane’s track and projected storm surge.
Levine Cava said the county would monitor the force of the winds expected to be felt in South Florida to determine if they should mandate evacuations.
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The mayor also said the county is making provisions and closely monitoring all areas that tend to flood, given that a previous system over the weekend has already caused water levels to rise in canals.
She said for the time being, all county offices and schools will remain open ahead of Hurricane Milton.
