Hurricane Milton lashed Florida’s devastated Gulf Coast as a massive Category Five storm, causing major traffic jams and fuel shortages as officials ordered the evacuation of more than a million people before the storm hits the Tampa Bay area.
Milton, which on Monday strengthened into one of the strongest Atlantic hurricanes on record, was forecast to make landfall this evening or Thursday morning, threatening a stretch of Florida’s densely populated west coast that is still reeling from the devastating effects of Hurricane Helena less than two weeks ago.
A direct hit into the bay would be the first since 1921, when the now Petersburg-Clearwater area was a relative backwater. Today it is home to more than three million people.
In Tampa, Estephani resident Veliz Hernandez said she and her family were gathering their pets, important documents and cash before heading home to relatives further inland.
“We’re leaving everything behind. We’re just trying to get to safety. If anything happens — if God says go ahead — at least we’re all together,” she said.
Milton packed maximum winds of 170 miles per hour, the US National Hurricane Center said, putting it at the highest level on the five-point Saffir-Simpson scale.
President Joe Biden, who delayed an overseas trip to oversee the storm response, urged those ordered to evacuate to leave immediately, saying it was a matter of life and death, Reuters reports.
