As Hurricane Milton barrels toward the Florida coast, a public health emergency has been declared across the state.

The PHE was named Tuesday by Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra to assist in the response to the hurricane’s impact.

It is the second PHE declared in recent weeks, following the PHE declared prior to Hurricane Helene’s landfall on September 26.

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A PHE can be caused by various factors, such as infectious disease outbreaks, natural disasters or other health-related emergencies, and signals the need for urgent action to address any health crisis. They enable governments to allocate and mobilize resources – such as financing, medical supplies and personnel – to respond more quickly and effectively to an emergency, giving healthcare providers more flexibility in meeting urgent health needs.

“We will do everything we can to help Florida officials respond to the health impacts of Hurricane Milton,” Becerra said in a statement. “We are working closely with state and local health authorities, as well as our partners across the federal government, and stand ready to provide additional public health and medical support.”

Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall near Tampa Bay this evening, bringing extremely strong winds, intense rainfall and catastrophic storm surge. The hurricane is currently a Category 5, with winds of 160 miles per hour.

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“There is an area of ​​heavy rainfall beginning to spread across portions of southwestern and west-central Florida ahead of Milton, and weather conditions will steadily deteriorate throughout the day across portions of Florida’s Gulf Coast,” the National Hurricane Center said ( NHC). said in a forecast advisory.

“Global models are in agreement that vertical wind shear is expected to begin increasing over Milton later today, and that should cause some weakening,” the report said. “However, there is high confidence that Milton will remain a very dangerous hurricane as it reaches Florida, and will maintain hurricane status as it moves through the state.”

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Hurricane-force winds will hit the state, bringing storm surges of up to 15 feet in some areas along the coast, including Tampa Bay. As much as 18 inches of rain is forecast in certain regions, which is expected to cause flash flooding.

“A large area of ​​destructive storm surgewith the highest flooding of 10 feet or more is expected along a portion of the west-central coast of the Florida peninsula. If you are in the storm surge warning area, this is an extremely life-threatening situation and you should evacuate as soon as possible if ordered by local officials,” the NHC urged.

“Milton is expected to remain a hurricane as it crosses the Florida peninsula and life-threatening hurricane force winds, especially gusts, are expected to spread inland across the peninsula,” the NHC said. “Heavy rainfall across the Florida peninsula through Thursday brings the risk of catastrophic and life-threatening flash and urban flooding, along with moderate to major river flooding, especially in areas where coastal and inland flooding combine to increase the overall flood threat .”

In preparation for the hurricane, the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) deployed approximately 100 responders to three Healthcare Situational Assessment Teams and two Disaster Medical Assistance Teams from ASPR’s National Disaster Medical System.

Experts from an ASPR Incident Management Team and ASPR Regional Emergency Coordinators will also work with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, state health authorities and emergency officials.

“While our medical teams continue to support hospitals and shelters in areas devastated by Hurricane Helene, we are also prepared to provide support to Florida communities following Hurricane Milton,” said Dawn O’Connell, Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and response from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. said. “Our teams are strategically positioned to go where needed across the state, and we have experts ready to support response and recovery requests in the coming days.”

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