HOME > AFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL > Article
Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
With carrots and strawberries, zookeepers lure Chompers the porcupine into an animal carrier, hoping to keep the creature -- and all the rest of the inhabitants of Zoo Tampa -- safe from the fury of Hurricane Milton.
Orangutans watch the flurry of activity before allowing their keepers to move them to safety, while African elephants are herded gently to the protected areas.
Tiffany Burns, director of animal programs at the zoo, says it has a few hurricane-proof buildings where they will move all the animals -- very carefully.
We hope that the animals have very minimal stress, that's always our goal, the 41-year-old says.
Florida's west coast is still digging out from the devastation of Hurricane Helene, which roared onshore as a Category 4 storm on September 26, causing widespread devastation.
Now, with the debris from Helene still strewn about, the battered region is bracing for Milton -- a potentially catastrophic Category 5 storm taking aim at Tampa.
Residents are bracing for the worst storm the city has faced in years -- perhaps a century.
The city of roughly 400,000 people, separated from the Gulf of Mexico by Tampa Bay, faces the worst impact from storm surges and flooding.
Burns explained that staff have tried to maintain a positive attitude as they prepare the zoo, but fear the impact of Milton on their own homes.
It's really hard to see such a big storm coming back toward us so soon, she says.
They are not alone.
- 'Too much' -
Ernst Bontemps boarded up the windows of his medical clinic in the nearby city of St. Petersburg for the second time in two weeks.
This is too much, sighed the 61-year-old gastroenterologist.
It's painful because last time we had complete devastation everywhere in St. Petersburg. And here we go again.
The entire Tampa Bay metropolitan area -- which includes the eponymous city, St. Petersburg and Clearwater -- still bears the scars of Helene, which left more than 230 people dead across the southeastern United States.
On Treasure Island, located in the Gulf of Mexico and accessible via a bridge from St. Petersburg, the streets remain littered with debris.
Helene caused flooding in most of the homes and businesses on the island, leading inhabitants to pile up everything damaged by the water in front of their residences, including mattresses, refrigerators, televisions and more.
David Levitsky looked at the pile in front of his own home on the island.
All this stuff is just wind fodder that's going to just be blowing down the street and hitting who knows what, the 69-year-old retiree said.
Like other Treasure Island residents, Levitsky is trying to protect what little survived Helene before he evacuates.
Being on the water is a joy, but obviously, with the joy comes a lot of possibilities on the other side of that spectrum, he said.
In St. Petersburg, meanwhile, Bontemps fears that repeat hurricanes are the new normal for this part of Florida.
I've been here for 22 years and we've never been hit by hurricanes twice in one year, he said.
(2024/10/08 18:21)
Click Here for Japanese TranslationAFP-JIJI PRESS NEWS JOURNAL
- 10/11 17:33 Harry's Bar in Paris drinks to US straw-poll centenary
- 10/11 17:27 MLB Twins up for sale after 40 years
- 10/11 15:26 Erdogan says Gaza 'shame of humanity', calls for permanent ceasfire
- 10/11 15:16 A very stiff breeze-- BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- 10/11 15:15 Federer lauds retiring Nadal's 'incredible achievements'
- 10/11 15:13 UN probe accuses Israel of seeking to 'destroy' Gaza healthcare
- 10/10 18:12 As Great Salt Lake dries, Utah Republicans pardon Trump climate skepticism
- 10/10 18:09 Wildlife populations plunge 73% since 1970-- WWF
- 10/10 18:07 McIlroy and DeChambeau set for PGA-LIV 'Showdown' in Vegas
- 10/10 18:05 Biden slams Trump for 'onslaught of lies' over hurricanes
- 10/10 16:55 Activists target Picasso work to protest Israel arms sales
- 10/10 16:53 Greek international Baldock, 31, found dead in pool-- state agency
- 10/09 21:59 Gilded canopy restored at Vatican basilica
- 10/09 21:53 Pyongyang to 'permanently' shut border with South Korea
- 10/09 21:45 Nepali becomes youngest to climb world's 8,000m peaks
- 10/09 17:38 Jurgen Klopp to return as head of Red Bull football operations
- 10/09 17:03 Syria says seven civilians killed in Israel Damascus strike
- 10/09 17:00 Osama bin Laden's son Omar banned from returning to France
- 10/08 20:26 Australia moves to expand Antarctic marine park
- 10/08 18:23 Musk says he is 'all in' on Trump in US election
- 10/08 18:21 Tampa zoo rushes Chompers the porcupine and others to safety as Milton nears
- 10/08 18:08 Harris-- 'Of course' I've fired my Glock
- 10/08 18:06 Barca hoping to return to Camp Nou 'by end of year'
- 10/08 17:02 Trump-- immigrants bringing 'bad genes' into US
- 10/07 17:13 Rescuers say 17 dead in Gaza as Israel troops encircle Jabaliya
- 10/07 17:10 Family affair as LeBron, Bronny James make Lakers bow
- 10/07 17:06 In France's Marseille, teen 'stabbed 50 times' then burned alive
- 10/07 17:03 Macron criticises Israel on Gaza, Lebanon operations
- 10/07 17:00 Haiti reeling after 70 killed in gang attack
- 10/07 16:55 India asks top court to heed marital rape leniency
- 10/04 19:25 Scientists unlock secret of 'Girl With Pearl Earring'
- 10/04 19:22 Sinner not 'comfortable' as doping case clouds Shanghai campaign
- 10/04 19:19 Dolphins flash friendly grins when they're ready to play
- 10/04 19:18 Milan's Morata moves house after Inter-fan town mayor 'violates' privacy
- 10/04 16:53 'Devastating' storm hits Augusta National but Masters will go on
- 10/03 19:32 Paris Olympics sports equipment moves to new homes
- 10/03 19:29 'Heartbreaking'-- Biden, Harris tour storm areas as deaths surpass 160
- 10/03 19:28 Deadly Israeli strike on central Beirut after soldiers killed
- 10/03 19:26 NBA legend Jordan files anti-trust lawsuit against NASCAR
- 10/03 19:25 South America treated to rare 'ring of fire' eclipse
- 10/03 19:24 Hamas claims Tel Aviv shooting attack that killed seven