The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) said that at 5:00 p.m. on October 8 (4:00 a.m. on October 9, Hanoi time), Hurricane Milton strengthened from level 4 to level 5, the highest on the 5-level scale. Previously, Milton became a level 5 storm on the morning of October 7 but was then downgraded one level on the morning of October 8.

As of 6 p.m. on October 8, Hurricane Milton was about 770 kilometers southwest of Tampa, Florida, with winds of about 265 kilometers per hour and moving east-northeast at more than 14 kilometers per hour, according to the NHC.

The storm’s intensity may change over the next 36 hours and will weaken to Category 3 before hitting the west coast of Florida on the night of October 9 and early morning of October 10.

Milton reached its peak known strength on the night of October 7, with wind gusts of up to 200 mph. The storm’s ferocity — the second-strongest ever recorded in the Gulf of Mexico — has prompted calls to designate it a new Category 6 storm.

Florida meteorologist Noah Bergren said it was “nothing short of astronomical” as Milton reached sustained winds of 180 mph and “gusts in excess of 200 mph.”

“I don’t have words to describe to you the meteorology of the eye and the intensity of it. This storm is approaching the mathematical limit of what the Earth’s atmosphere over this ocean can produce,” said Noah Bergren.

“This is an incredible, incredible, incredible storm,” NBC 6 South Florida hurricane expert John Morales said, choking back tears. “I’m sorry. It’s terrifying!”

In light of the emergency, US President Joe Biden has postponed his planned trips to Angola and Germany this week. “I should not be leaving the country at this time,” the President said.

Mr Biden said Milton could be the worst storm to hit Florida in more than a century. “A lot of people are scared to death. They know their lives are at stake, as well as everything they work for and own and value,” the president added.

Speaking to Environmental Economics, Dr. Quang Minh, who is currently working at the University of West Florida, said that his family of five has prepared plans to cope with this super storm. Dr. Quang Minh predicted that Hurricane Milton will cause major impacts on the state of Florida, even more than Hurricane Helene, which passed through the state at the end of September.

According to the New York Times, Milton is the 13th hurricane to form in the Atlantic in 2024.

In late May, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicted there would be 17 to 25 named storms this year, a higher-than-normal number. It would be the eighth consecutive year that the average number of named storms has been exceeded. 

Typically, the El Nino that took effect last season suppresses hurricanes and reduces the number of storms in a season. But in 2023, warm ocean temperatures in the Atlantic have reduced El Nino’s usual hurricane-suppressing effect.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has declared a state of emergency for 51 of the state’s 67 counties. The US National Hurricane Center has warned that when Milton makes landfall, “catastrophic damage will occur” even in well-built homes, while “power and water services will be lost for days to weeks.”

Local officials have issued widespread mandatory evacuation orders for many communities in Florida, including parts of Lee, Hillsborough and Sarasota counties.

Florida is still reeling from Hurricane Helene, and Governor Ron DeSantis promised on October 7 that there would be a round-the-clock effort to clear the debris before Milton arrives. DeSantis declared a state of emergency for 51 counties ahead of Milton’s landfall