On October 8th, US President Joe Biden announced that he has postponed his scheduled trips to Germany and Angola to monitor Hurricane “Milton”, which is gradually approaching the Gulf Coast of Florida. President Biden stated from the White House that “I believe I cannot leave the country at this moment.” Prior to this, senior government officials briefed him on the latest situation of the storm “Milton” and the government’s preparedness efforts. Biden warned that the hurricane “could be one of the most severe storms to hit Florida in 100 years” and stated that he is “expanding the scale and speed of federal government response measures.”
After listening to officials’ reports, Biden urged residents along the storm’s path to follow local government orders and evacuate “immediately.” He emphasized, “You should have evacuated long ago… This is a matter of life and death, not an exaggeration, but a matter of life and death.”
Biden remarked that the strength of “Milton” is sufficient to “enter Florida as a hurricane, leave Florida’s Atlantic coast as a hurricane, which may be one of the most severe storms Florida has encountered in over a century. Hopefully, it won’t be so, but currently it seems to be the case.”
He called on commercial airlines and other companies to assist in evacuation efforts. “I urge airlines and other companies to provide as much service as possible to support evacuation efforts, do not price gouge, charge normal prices.”
It is currently unclear when Biden will reschedule his overseas trips as the White House has not announced a new travel date. The President was originally scheduled to depart for Germany on Thursday to attend a summit on the Ukraine war at a US military base with allied countries, followed by a visit to Angola.
The German government issued a statement saying, “We regret the cancellation of the trip, of course, we understand the situation in Florida.”
Biden had promised to visit Africa before the end of his presidential term in January next year. On Tuesday, he stated that he still plans to proceed with the trip. “I still plan to visit all the places I have mentioned before and attend all the meetings I have mentioned before.”
Hurricane “Milton” slightly weakened on Tuesday, but it is still expected to bring a fierce storm to Florida, possibly causing a once-in-a-century direct impact on the densely populated Tampa Bay area, bringing towering waves and hurling debris from Hurricane “Helene” which recently struck.
As “Milton” spins near the Yucatan Peninsula at 145 mph (230 km/h) and heads towards Florida, much of Florida’s west coast is under hurricane or tropical storm warnings. The hurricane is expected to maintain considerable strength as it crosses Florida, with eastern coastal areas issuing hurricane warnings earlier on Tuesday. The center of Hurricane “Milton” could make landfall in the populated Tampa Bay area on Wednesday night.
This year’s hurricane season has had a serious impact on the final weeks of the presidential campaign. Less than two weeks ago, after Hurricane “Helene” made landfall in the southeastern United States, Democratic candidate and Vice President Kamala Harris shortened her West Coast trip, returned to Washington, and then visited the hardest-hit states of Georgia and North Carolina.
Republican candidate Donald Trump also visited the southeast United States, including two visits to Georgia.
(Based on reports from the Associated Press)