Oct 8, 2024 - Energy & Climate

"You are going to die": Tampa mayor warns against ignoring Milton evacuation orders

Ivana Saric

People evacuate from St. Petersburg, Florida and the Tampa area ahead of Hurricane Milton. — Traffic is heavy as thousands evacuate on Oct. 7 in St. Petersburg, Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton's landfall. Photo: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued a dire warning to residents considering ignoring evacuation orders as Hurricane Milton approaches Florida.

Threat level: "I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're going to die," Castor told CNN on Monday evening.

The big picture: Hurricane Milton explosively intensified to become a Category 5 storm on Monday.

Coming fast on the heels of the devastation caused by Hurricane Helene, Milton threatens to impact highly populated areas of the Florida coast.
The National Hurricane Center warned Tuesday that Hurricane Milton "has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida."
While Hurricane Helene brought a 4-to-8 foot storm surge in the Tampa Bay area — and was extremely damaging — Milton is projected to bring an unprecedented 10-to 15-foot storm surge to a wide swath of the area.

What she's saying: "This is something that I've never seen in my life and I can tell you that anyone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before," Castor said.

She stressed the need for residents to make immediate evacuation plans.
As forecast, the storm surge will not be "survivable," she added.

Go deeper: Milton could be the hurricane Tampa Bay has been dreading for decades

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"You are going to die": Tampa mayor warns against ignoring Milton evacuation orders

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