Hurricane Milton “If they stop, they’re going to die”: State of emergency in Florida ahead of deadly hurricane

“I can say this without any histrionics: If they decide to live in one of those evacuation zones, they’re going to die.”

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor made the dramatic call to residents of the city on Florida’s west coast, fearing dangerous impacts. hurricane milton Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

According to forecasts from the US National Hurricane Center (NHC), landfall will occur in Milton “Life-threatening” storm Due to the storms, strong winds and floods that arise from it.

According to the latest bulletin from the NHC this Tuesday, the storm once again reached Category 5 Sustained winds of 270 km/h, It had become a little weak in the morning. It maintained the trajectory that should take it to land in or near Tampa.

“We can expect the storm to move a little south,” Castor said at a news conference Tuesday. “If a hurricane hits Tampa Bay, he has no place to go. It will reach our neighborhoods,” the mayor warned.

officials have issued mandatory evacuation order For areas at risk of flooding near bodies of water in Hillsborough County, where Tampa is located. Also for at-risk areas of Charlotte, Citrus, Collier, Hernando, Lee, Levy, Manatee, Pasco, Pinellas, Sarasota, St. Johns and Volusia counties.

President Joe Biden also appealed to area residents: “The time to evacuate is now, now, now (…) It’s a matter of life or death”The President warned that this could be the worst hurricane seen in America in 100 years.

Florida and five other states are still recovering from Hurricane Helene, which struck 10 days ago. hurricane More than 200 people died -the highest number since Katrina in 2005- and hundreds missing.

Since Milton’s intensification, thousands of residents along Florida’s west coast and other areas in the center of the state have begun preparing for the hurricane’s arrival.

Supermarket They are overwhelmed with shopping for groceries and products for emergencies. Other than this gas station They are starting to run out of fuel. By Tuesday afternoon, 1,300 stations had run out of gas.

People who have started freeing up space have also faced the problem traffic jamThe number of vehicles on some roads is increasing by 150%, leaving many vehicles stranded for several hours.

Kathy Allen-Tierney, who was visiting family in Tampa, said she had been trying to get to Atlanta for 12 hours. “It was horrible,” he told the BBC. “We were going at 10 mph (15 km/h) for probably three hours.”

Governor Ron DeSantis He called on residents of Milton in at-risk areas to take evacuation plans seriously.

“We will not be able to search for the people living here again,” he said while announcing the setting up of 36 shelters.

Hundreds of flights to or from Florida have already been canceled.

at the airport tampa346 were affected this Tuesday and another 378 were canceled for Wednesday.

This figure is even higher orlandoA total of 781 flights were already canceled on Wednesday.

Airlines have announced there will be no additional cost for the changes and some additional flights will be scheduled before the storm arrives for travelers wishing to leave the state.

National Hurricane Center forecasts indicate Milton will make landfall Wednesday night as an “extremely dangerous storm.”

The most likely area includes the Tampa metropolitan area, where More than three crore people live there.

Forecasters warn that Milton is capable of producing heavy rainfall and flash flooding, high winds and possible tornadoes.

The latter occurs when water moves from the coast inland. It is expected that they can reach between 3 to 4.5 meters.

Given the cyclone’s size, it may have been the worst hurricane to hit the Tampa area in nearly a century.

Category 4 or 5 hurricanes can down trees and power lines, leaving residential areas isolated and causing prolonged power outages.

Affected areas may remain uninhabitable for weeks or months.

Although the intensity of the storm decreased this Tuesday, officials have warned can double in size Before making landfall in Florida.

The main body of the cyclone is expected to pass through the mid-west of the peninsula and then flow into the Atlantic Ocean. possibly still hurricane force,

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