Florida braces for monster Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton closed in on Florida Wednesday, unleashing tornadoes and threatening a wide swath of the state with life-threatening flooding, as residents made last-minute preparations for impact and the country's top politicians sparred over relief efforts.

Tidal surges are expected to inundate the heavily populated and low-lying Gulf Coast, with the cities of Tampa and Sarasota bracing for a direct hit, amid rising fears of widespread chaos and possible fatalities.

Milton, now a strong Category 3 hurricane, is then expected to rip through inland areas to the Atlantic Ocean, with tourist hub Orlando -- home to Walt Disney World -- in its path.

In Sarasota, as the rain intensified, streets were increasingly deserted, with most businesses shuttered and sandbagged for protection. Residents sought refuge at evacuation centers.

"I am nervous. This is something we just went through with the other storm -- ground saturated, still recovering from that," Randy Prior, who owns a pool business, told AFP.

Prior, 36, says he plans to ride out the storm at home, after recently toughing out Helene, which sparked flooding in Florida before wreaking havoc across remote areas further inland such as in western North Carolina.

"I own a business, so once the storm stops, I've got to be here, help clean up, get everything back to normal. But this one's a big one for sure."

Tampa resident Luis Santiago meanwhile said he would "close up everything" and leave.

The Weather Channel reported "numerous tornadoes" touching down in central and southern Florida.

"It's time to shelter-in-place from #Milton," the National Weather Service said.

- 'Reckless, irresponsible' -

With the storm coming immediately after lethal Hurricane Helene hit the US southeast, presidential candidate Donald Trump has sought political advantage by falsely saying aid is channeled away from supporters of his Republican Party toward migrants.

At the White House on Wednesday, President Joe Biden slammed the Republican former president and current candidate's "onslaught of lies."

"There's been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies," Biden said in angry remarks.

Vice President Kamala Harris, who is taking on Trump at the polls, echoed Biden's criticisms in a separate telephone interview with CNN.

"It is dangerous, it is unconscionable, frankly, that anyone who'd consider themselves a leader would mislead desperate people to the point that those desperate people would not receive the aid to which they are entitled," she said.

In Florida, officials again warned those in danger zones to seek safe shelter.

"This hurricane is going to pack a major, major punch and do an awful lot of damage," Governor Ron DeSantis told a press briefing.

- 'Extremely dangerous' -

At 2100 GMT, Milton was located 60 miles (100 kilometers) west-southwest of Sarasota, generating maximum sustained winds of 120 miles (195 kilometers) per hour, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

"The center of Milton will make landfall near or just south of the Tampa Bay region this evening, move across the central part of the Florida peninsula overnight, and emerge off the east coast of Florida on Thursday," the NHC said.

The airports in Tampa and Sarasota were closed until further notice.

- Disinformation -

At Walt Disney World in Orlando, which was expected to receive a big hit once Milton crosses the peninsula, visitors got a few rides in before the theme park closed shortly after midday.

"It's safe and we're here, so might as well," said Lindsay Moore, 42, who flew in from Hawaii over the weekend.

Trump has repeatedly fueled conspiracy theories and disinformation about supposed failure by Biden and Harris.

"Western North Carolina, and the whole state, for that matter, has been totally and incompetently mismanaged by Harris/Biden," Trump said Wednesday on his Truth Social network.

"Hold on, and vote these horrible 'public servants' out of office."

Scientists say global warming has a role in intense storms as warmer ocean surfaces release more water vapor, providing additional energy for storms, which exacerbates their winds.

Across the southeastern United States, emergency workers are still struggling to provide relief after Helene, which killed at least 235 people.