Hurricane Milton live: Florida residents warned ‘if you stay you’ll die’ as Category 4 monster storm heads for US

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”.