Less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated multiple southeast U.S. states, Florida is bracing for the arrival of Hurricane Milton. Authorities there are urging people to flee flood-prone areas and prepare for the coming storm — and assuring the public that FEMA will be taking a strictly nonpartisan approach to Hurricane Milton aid.

Helene killed hundreds, destroyed thousands of homes and left millions without power in its wake. With recovery efforts continuing, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is preparing for more possible destruction in areas of Florida affected by the previous storm.

FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition that people should not underestimate Hurricane Milton.

“So we know that Hurricane Milton is going to be a large storm. Even though we're getting some reports that it might weaken some, I don't want people to take that for granted.” Criswell said. “This is going to be a significant storm that's going to hit the west coast of Florida.”

Criswell visited Florida on Monday to talk with the mayors of Tampa and St. Petersburg about disaster recovery after Helene and how to prepare for Milton, demonstrating FEMA's nonpartisan approach to Hurricane Milton aid. She says she’ll “continue to move resources in until the storm makes landfall.”

FEMA's Nonpartisan Approach to Hurricane Milton Aid

“I have a good relationship with all governors,” Criswell said when asked about her relationship with Republican governors across the southeast, including Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, emphasizing her nonpartisan approach to FEMA aid. “The disaster response is non-political. It is all about the people.”

She spoke to Morning Edition about Milton’s expected landfall, recovery efforts after Helene, FEMA’s funding and falsehoods that have spread about the agency’s aid to individuals.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length. 

Steve Inskeep: I'm looking at the National Hurricane Center maps and trying to calculate where on the coast [Hurricane Milton will hit], and it looked like right now it was going to hit in the area of Tampa right by St. Pete Beach. I mean, areas that have already been devastated once in recent days. How does that complicate things that the area has already been damaged?

Deanne Criswell: It certainly complicates things, Steve, as they were still doing debris cleanup. And so they've done an amazing effort of trying to get the debris that they had from Hurricane Helene out of the way. So it didn't create additional complications.

Read the full article about nonpartisan Hurricane Milton aid by Destinee Adams and Steve Inskeep at NPR.