Tampa Bay Mayor Jane Castor issued a dire warning to residents who refuse to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton.
Castor said the storm could the worst to hit the city in a century, just hours after forecaster said Milton had become a Category 5 storm raging in the Gulf of Mexico at 180mph. Speaking to CNN, Castor urged residents to prepare now and leave all evacuations zones.
She said: "I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die. This is something that I have never seen in my life and anyone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen this before."
READ MORE: Florida roads gridlocked out of Tampa and Lakeland amid 'horrific' Hurricane Milton forecast
READ MORE: Meteorologist breaks down in tears amid 'dire' Hurricane Milton forecast predicting 'horrific' impact
Photos show bumper-to-bumper traffic on roads leading out of Tampa and Lakeland - with the two cities predicted to be hit hard by the storm. While some of the traffic has calmed down, alerts still show backed-up zones through Polk County and Sumter County, among others. Residents are advised to continuously check traffic reports before leaving their homes.
The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay warned the 3.3 million residents to evacuate , be patient with traffic, leave early, and ensure they reached a safe house by Tuesday night.
Nearly six million people are affected by the evacuation order.
The last time the eye of a major storm like Hurricane Milton struck Tampa Bay, in 1921, the city was a sleepy backwater of a few hundred thousand people. A century later, it’s among the fastest-growing metropolises in the United States, with more than 3 million people, and highly vulnerable to flooding due to climate change.
As Milton barrels toward the Gulf Coast of Florida, the NWS says it "will be the worst storm to impact the Tampa area in over 100 years." State officials have urged residents to 'complete all prep before tomorrow night' and stock up on water.
The terrifying hurricane comes fewer than two weeks after Hurricane Helene caused massive flooding in the state and killed more than 200 people across six states. Milton had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph) over the southern Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said.
In addition to Florida, hurricane warnings have been issued for parts of Mexico’s Yucatan state, and much of Florida’s west coast. Officials have stated that they are also watching Florida’s Lake Okeechobee, as the body of water often floods during intense storms. Also on Monday, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said that it was imperative that the mess left over by Helene was cleared before Milton's arrival.
“We don’t have time for bureaucracy and red tape,” DeSantis said. “We have to get the job done.” Before adding that any leftover debris could be a dangerous flying projectile. "You have time to prepare - all day today, all day Monday, probably all day Tuesday to be sure your hurricane preparedness plan is in place," DeSantis advised. "If you're on that west coast of Florida, barrier islands, just assume you'll be asked to leave."
On Sunday, DeSantis reportedly extended his state of emergency declaration to 51 counties, urging Floridians to brace for more power outages and disruption. He emphasized the need for a week's supply of food and water and readiness to evacuate. "We are preparing ... for the largest evacuation that we have seen, most likely since 2017, Hurricane Irma," Guthrie revealed.
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