Major flood protection project in Tampa is incomplete as city braces for Hurricane Milton
Major infrastructure upgrades meant to protect Florida’s Tampa Bay area from flooding are months away from completion, as the vulnerable region braces for what could be the worst hurricane in more than a century, officials said.
Major infrastructure upgrades meant to protect Florida’s Tampa Bay area from flooding are months away from completion, as the vulnerable region braces for what could be the worst hurricane in more than a century, officials said.
Hurricane Milton is expected to strike the Tampa area overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning with life-threatening storm surge of up to 15 feet, said Austen Flannery, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tampa office.
The region, largely spared from Hurricane Ian two years ago and the worst of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago, has not been directly hit by a major hurricane since 1921.
“There is really no frame of reference for what that looks like here,” Flannery said. “Unlike the last few storms, where we more have been grazed by the storms, this one’s coming across the peninsula.”
Milton is forecast to retain its major hurricane status and expand as it approaches the west coast of Florida, the National Weather Service said.
Rating: 5