The mayor of Tampa, Florida, warned residents on Monday that if they choose to ignore evacuation orders and stay in the city when Hurricane Milton hits, they are “gonna die.”
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told CNN that the “number one message” for Tampa residents was “to prepare, do whatever you need to do, and then get out of the evacuation zones” before the Category 5 hurricane hits Florida this week.
According to The New York Post, Hurricane Milton could hit Florida as soon as Wednesday and has the potential to be even more destructive than Hurricane Helene, which recently devastated communities all throughout the southeastern United States. The outlet noted that Hurricane Milton is currently the second-strongest Gulf hurricane on record and that experts fear it could grow stronger as it approaches Florida.
Castor warned that current predictions show a “possibility of a direct hit” in Tampa with a “10 to 12-foot tidal surge.” To give perspective on the massive tidal surge that could accompany Hurricane Milton, Castor said Hurricane Helene’s recent tidal surge was only 6 feet and was “literally devastating to so many in our coastal area.”
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Emphasizing the unprecedented danger posed by Hurricane Milton, Castor warned Tampa residents on Monday to follow evacuation orders before the massive storm hits. Asked what her message would be to residents who do not heed the city’s evacuation orders, Castor said, “I can tell you right now they might have done that in others; there’s never been one like this. And Helene was a wakeup call; this is literally catastrophic.”
Castor added, “And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die.”
Asked about the blunt nature of her warning to Tampa residents, Castor explained, “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. People need to get out.”
The Tampa mayor warned that Hurricane Milton “is not survivable” if the region experiences the “predicted storm surge” that experts are warning about.
