Hurricane Eta in the Gulf of Mexico is heading for Florida to strike shortly the west and south coast. The hurricane had earlier struck Florida on Monday and has weakened to a tropical storm. The storm is moving with a speed of 19kmh and is likely to make landfall north of Tampa Bay anytime soon with a notice period of fewer than 24 hours. After striking Florida on Monday, the storm has taken an erratic path moving southwest first and then stalling for some time in the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday. It has now made a loop and taken recourse northward moving rather fast. The storm is going to cut across the state of Florida and enter the Atlantic Ocean as a significant cyclone.
The storm had a long sea travel and has already battered Mexico and Central America before moving to the Gulf of Mexico. Actually, the storm is likely to make its 4th landfall shortly striking southwest Florida with squally winds and torrential rains. This has been 28th named storm of the busiest Atlantic hurricane season and is one of the worst storms in decades for Central America which reeled from floods and rain fueled landslides. Before the landfall, the beaches, ports and Covid testing sites were closed. Also, the public transportation system and schools were shut and shelters were opened in Miami and Florida Keys. About 60,000 evacuations were carried out in Guatemala, one of the worst-hit location in the path of the storm.
The tropical storm has now spun towards Florida for the second landfall over the state. It is travelling over the open sea with favourable temperature and conducive environmental conditions. Florida’s Governor has declared a state of emergency for 13 counties in Eta’s path and urged residents to stay off the street. The cyclone will have storm surge which could inundate areas with more than 5 feet of water, gale speed winds and incessant rains. The storm is estimated to take about 8-10hr to cross the peninsular state of Florida.
