Hurricane Milton live: Florida residents warned ‘if you stay you’ll die’ as Category 4 monster storm heads for US
Hurricane Milton weakens to Category 4 but poses ‘even more danger’ as it continues to grow in size ahead of Wednesday’s projected landfall
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A Florida mayor issued a stark warning that residents will die if they don’t evacuate as Hurricane Milton races towards the state’s west coast.
The potential “once in a lifetime” storm rapidly intensified from a Category 1 to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday with sustained winds surpassing 180mph, before slowing to Category 4 on Tuesday.
The National Hurricane Center has warned that Milton may regain strength and grow in size, posing “even more danger” as it is expected to make landfall in Florida by Wednesday evening, slamming into the densely populated Tampa Bay.
Tampa mayor Jane Castor told CNN that if residents choose to “stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die”. Hurricane Helene, which devastated parts of the Sunshine State almost two weeks ago, was a “wake-up call,” she said, before adding that Milton could be “literally catastrophic”.
President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration on Monday after pledging “life-saving resources in advance of the storm,” the day prior.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis announced Monday that the state has stocked up on millions of gallons of fuel, truckloads of food, water and medical supplies, Starlinks and flood protection systems to safeguard “critical infrastructure”.
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K-12 schools across 43 of Florida’s 46 counties are set to close on Wednesday, in anticipation of Hurricane Milton making landfall on the state’s west coast.
Ten of those schools are expected to reopen on Thursday after the storm slams into Tampa on Wednesday night. Others remain closed for the rest f the week.
“The Florida Department of Education works closely with school districts before, during and after natural disasters to ensure they have the resources necessary to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. We will continue collaborating with district leadership to address questions as they arise,” a statement reads on the Florida Department of Education’s website.
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Holmes Beach Police Chief Tokajer: Milton will be a ‘punch in the gut'
William Tokajer, the chief of police in Holmes Beach, said Tuesday that rapidly-approaching Hurricane Milton is going to be a “punch in the gut” for his community.
"This is devastating," he told FOX 13 Tampa. "It’s a punch in the gut for everybody out here that has been working so hard to rehab their houses and to get them ready so they can do reconstruction."
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Utilities warn Florida residents of power outages that could affect millions
TECO, Duke and Florida Power and Light said they have no doubt that at least some of their 2.3 million customers in the Tampa Bay area will lose power, according to FOX 13 Tampa.
“Customers should expect to have widespread and extended outages,” said Mary Lou Carn of TECO.
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Should I evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall?
Florida’s Division of Emergency Management has charted a map of evacuation zones across the Sunshine State.
Residents may be left wondering whether to leave their homes or stay put as Hurricane Milton barrels towards Tampa – which is due to make landfall on Wednesday evening. Evacuation orders have so far been issued to hundreds of thousands of Floridians.
“If you are in an evacuation zone that is ordered to evacuate by local authorities or in a flood zone, you should evacuate no matter what,” the agency advises on its website’s FAQ’s section.
The FDEM has collated a “Know Your Zone” list from local officials of areas and buildings that are most likely to be evacuated. Find out more, here.
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