As Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm, approaches the Sunshine State, the mayor of Tampa is delivering a chilling warning to residents. During an appearance on CNN, Mayor Jane Castor stated bluntly, “If you choose to stay … you are going to die.”
On air, Castor emphasized that this hurricane is not one to ride out casually. “I can tell you right now they might have done that in others, there’s never been one like this,” she remarked. “And Helene was a wakeup call; this is literally catastrophic. And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die.”
Reflecting on the recent hurricane Helene, which brought a tidal surge of 6 feet, Castor, who has been in office since 2019, noted that forecasts predict a tidal surge of 10 to 12 feet with Milton. “This is something that I’ve never seen in my life and I can tell you anyone born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before,” she added. “People need to get out. If we have this predicted storm surge, this is not survivable,” she reiterated.
In response to the impending storm, President Biden has signed a disaster declaration for Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches its coast, marking the second major storm to hit the state in recent weeks.
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He tweeted Monday on X, “I just approved an emergency declaration from the State of Florida and ordered federal assistance to supplement response efforts that may arise due to emergency conditions resulting from Hurricane Milton. We expect this storm to again make landfall in western Florida and are working quickly to preposition federal response personnel and assets.”
Governor Ron DeSantis has also advised residents of Florida’s Gulf Coast to prepare for a “ferocious” storm, noting that Milton will be the strongest storm in the Gulf of Mexico since 2005.
“Let’s prepare for the worst, and let’s pray that we get a weakening,” Mr. DeSantis said at a news briefing Tuesday morning. “But we must be prepared for a major, major impact to the west coast of Florida.”
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