A storm surge warning has been reissued for several areas in Florida as Milton intensifies with wind speeds of 161 km/h, continuing to strengthen and becoming a major hurricane by the end of October 7th.
Residents along Florida’s coast have just endured the devastating Hurricane Helene in recent days and now face new evacuation orders as the U.S. National Hurricane Center (NHC) on October 7th warned that Hurricane Milton is strengthening to Category 3 on the five-tier scale, with the potential to cause severe damage.
The NHC noted that a storm surge warning has been reissued for several areas in Florida as Milton intensifies with wind speeds of 161 km/h, continuing to strengthen and becoming a major hurricane by the end of October 7th.
The hurricane is expected to move north of the Yucatán Peninsula and cross the southern Gulf of Mexico on October 7th-8th. It could potentially make landfall on Florida’s west coast.
The risk of storm surge during Hurricane Milton could reach 0.6 to 1.2 meters above sea level along the northern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, causing large, destructive waves.
According to the NHC, major hurricanes—Category 3 or higher—have a minimum wind speed of 178 km/h and pose the risk of “catastrophic damage,” even to well-constructed homes. Power and water outages may last for several days or weeks after the storm passes.
Tampa County official Jane Castor stated that the area is still recovering from Hurricane Helene, and the incoming rain from Milton will add more challenges, not to mention storm surges and wind damage.
President Joe Biden emphasized that the federal government is preparing resources for storm response and rescue efforts.
Earlier that day, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis extended the state of emergency to 51 of the state’s 67 counties, warning that Hurricane Milton could have “significant impacts.”
Meanwhile, rescue teams are still racing to find those missing after Hurricane Helene, which hit the U.S. on September 27th, resulting in 225 fatalities across several states.
Superstar’s 3-year-old son dies two weeks after tragic river accident
Levi Wright, the young son of rodeo star Spencer Wright, has tragically passed away.
The three-year-old succumbed to a traumatic brain injury sustained from a near-drowning incident on May 21.
Levi was driving a tractor toy and fell into a river. He was rushed to the Salt Lake City hospital where he was hospitalized. Local law enforcement located Levi unconscious around a mile downstream.
Levi was initially declared brain dead and was not expected to survive, but he still showed signs of improvement.
“LEVI WOKE UP! I am shook, we don’t know much but the doctor said it was okay for me to get excited about that and I AM! My baby is so tough!” his mother Kallie Wright posted on Facebook.
Sadly, the results of the MRI done the following day “weren’t good.”
“We’re shattered but it is just images that suggest a certain quality of life. Our real teller of all will be what Levi does over the course of a few days,” Kallie shared.
His fight continued as family and friends prayed for his recovery.
Unfortunately, the family was forced to make a heartbreaking decision.
“After several sleepless nights, lots of research, multiple conversations with the world’s best neurologists & millions of prayers we are here in the face of our biggest fear,” she wrote. “Levi showed us just enough to buy us time for all of this. We prayed those things were him defying odds & proving to us that he wanted to stay here but we see now he wanted to give us time to find peace with letting him go.”
Following a number of scans and tests, as well as consultations with the medical personnel, the family decided to take Levi off life support.
The news of Levi’s tragic passing was confirmed by Mindy Sue Clark, a friend of the family.
“I cannot even begin to explain how hard the last two weeks have been. From the moment my phone rang the night of his accident, to last night receiving the message that he had to go. I don’t want to focus on the bad or sad, even though it feels like someone ripped my heart out and squeezed it right in front of me. I want to focus on the many miracles we all got to bear witness to in those 12 days.
“The most perfect three year old there ever was. So perfect we didn’t get to keep him. This baby boy moved mountains the last 12 days. He brought so many people together. In a world so dark, we got to see light at the hands of a child. He’s everything his mom and dad could’ve wanted him to be.”
We are so very sorry for this devastating loss. Rest in peace, Levi.
Leave a Reply