In order to stay at the White House and keep an eye on Hurricane Milton, which is making its way closer to Florida’s Gulf Coast, President Joe Biden has canceled his scheduled trip to Germany and Angola.
He told reporters at the White House on Tuesday, “I just don’t think I can be out of the country at this time,” following a briefing on the storm and the government’s preparations from senior administration officials. Milton “may be one of the worst storms to hit Florida in a century,” Biden warned.
He advised everyone in the storm’s path to follow local instructions and leave “now.”
Seated with some of the officials who had briefed him, Biden stated, “You should have already evacuated.” It’s not hyperbole to say that it’s a question of life or death.
Hurricane Milton, a ferocious storm, has the potential to hit Florida as a hurricane and leave it as a hurricane on the Atlantic Coast. President Biden has called for commercial airlines and other companies to provide assistance with evacuations and not engage in price gouging. It is unclear when Biden’s overseas trip might be rescheduled, and the White House did not announce new travel dates. Biden had planned to host a summit on Ukraine with allied nations at a U.S. military base before continuing to Angola. The German government issued a statement expressing regret for the cancellation due to the situation in Florida.
Biden had promised to visit Africa during his term in office, which ends in January. He still intends to make the journey. Hurricane Milton weakened slightly Tuesday but remained a ferocious storm that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on the populous Tampa Bay region with towering storm surges and turn debris from Helene’s recent devastation into projectiles. Most of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as Milton and its 145 mph winds spun just off Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. Parts of the state’s eastern coast were put under hurricane warnings early Tuesday. Milton’s center could come ashore Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, which has a population of more than 3.3 million people.
(AP)
