Florida death metal veterans DEICIDE have canceled the last three shows of their North American tour with KRISIUN, INFERI and CLOAK in order to return home “to protect” their “families and properties” as Floridians prep for the second storm to hit the Gulf Coast in a little over two weeks.
On Monday (October 7),DEICIDE released the following statement via social media: “Due to the pending landfall of hurricane Milton on central Florida and the gulf coast , we will be leaving the tour after the performance today in Corpus Christi Texas and heading back to the state of Florida to protect our families and properties, we are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause, and appreciate your understanding, Houston, New Orleans and Pensacola will be canceled to allow us time to return to our families and homes. We will be playing early tonight 8 to 9 so hurry out tonight!”
Forecasters expect Hurricane Milton to make landfall near Sarasota, Florida on Wednesday evening, with a slew of advisories going into effect across large stretches of the western Florida coastline, where storm surges could get as high as 15 feet. National Hurricane Center forecasters also said that weather conditions in Florida may deteriorate much earlier on Wednesday.
“Hurricane conditions are expected in the warning area on the west coast of Florida as early as Wednesday afternoon, with tropical storm conditions beginning early Wednesday,” the agency told NPR.
Milton was downgraded early Tuesday to a Category 4 hurricane, but forecasters said it still posed “an extremely serious threat to Florida.”
The Tampa Bay region, where the members of DEICIDE reside and which is still rebounding from Hurricane Helene and its powerful surge 12 days ago, has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane since 1921.
Almost the entirety of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane warning early Tuesday as the storm and its 155 mph (250 kph) winds crept toward the state at 12 mph (19 kph),although scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall.