US military bases in the path of Category 5 storm Milton took immediate action before the storm made landfall - Military.com reported.
According to the latest hurricane information from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), Hurricane Milton is an extremely dangerous storm as it approaches the west coast of Florida and is expected to make landfall on October 9.
Milton became a hurricane on October 6 and quickly strengthened to a Category 5 super typhoon on October 7. Maximum winds near the center of the storm are 250 km/h and are likely to strengthen, becoming a Category 6 super typhoon with gusts of up to 320 km/h - a level not yet included in the 5-point Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale.
Major General Pat Ryder, a Pentagon spokesman, said the US Department of Defense is monitoring the path of the storm and preparing for all possibility.
"The federal government, including the Department of Defense, is prepared to respond to Milton, including considering all possible unexpected situations and clearing search and rescue routes," Ryder added, adding that the Pentagon is working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency "to prepare for potential impacts when the storm makes landfall."
Tampa's MacDill Air Force Base is located right in the path of Hurricane Milton, according to the National Weather Service's hurricane forecast. The base authorities ordered a widespread evacuation on October 7.
Most of the bases services, schools and other resources were also closed on October 8.
MacDill evacuated 12 KC-135 aircraft to McConnell Air Force Base in Kansas - Rose Riley, said a spokesperson for the Air Force.
The 482nd Fighter Squadron at Homestead Air Force Reserve Station south of Miami moves 7 F-16 fighter jets to San Antonio, Texas.
The US Navy also said it is taking precautions ahead of the storm.
The three Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers at the Mayport Naval Station in Jacksonville on the northeastern coast of Florida - USS Donald Cook, USS Thomas Hudner and USS Lassen - were moved on October 7.
Other US warships at Navy Station Mayport will be anchored at "bad weather anchorage positions". The aircraft were also evacuated or stored at the base.
Last week, after the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin mobilized 1,000 soldiers on active duty to support the recovery, cleanup and rescue work.
The Pentagon is deploying 500 more soldiers with advanced technology, such as drones to support search and rescue operations, to the locations where they have been mobilized.
As of October 7, more than 6,000 Coast Guard soldiers, along with hundreds of water swimmers and helicopters, have been mobilized after Hurricane Helene.
