Tampa's mayor warns about Hurricane Milton: "If you stay, you will die."

The mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor, has issued a catastrophic announcement for the city's residents due to the proximity and dangers posed by the powerful hurricane Milton, in which she urges awareness of the need to evacuate to avoid loss of human life.

“Helene was a wake-up call,” said the mayor. “This is literally catastrophic. I can say without exaggerating at all that if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die,” the official stated, aiming to warn about the dangers looming due to the proximity of Milton.

According to Local 10, the message comes at a crucial moment, with one of the largest evacuations on the west coast of Florida.

The traffic reports indicated very congested traffic on Interstate 75, as people try to get to safety.

In Florida, there are 11 counties under a mandatory evacuation, which has led to a 150% increase in traffic as many leave areas expected to be affected by the storm.

Due to this situation, Governor Ron DeSantis announced the suspension of tolls in central and western Florida, as well as on Alligator Alley, starting at 10:30 a.m. on Monday, October 7, 2024, to facilitate evacuation.

The measure will be in effect for one week, until October 14, and may be extended if conditions require it.

The Florida Department of Education reported on its website about the massive closure of schools and universities in the coming days depending on the level of impact expected in each county of the state.

In addition, several scheduled flights to Florida and coming from the southern state, as well as from the Baltimore-Washington area, have been canceled.

Among the airlines with the most disruptions are JetBlue, Frontier, Southwest, Delta, United, American, and Spirit.

Hurricane Milton, although it has weakened to category 4 on the Saffir-Simpson scale, remains highly intense and is expected to increase in size as it approaches the west coast of Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).

"Today is the last full day for Florida residents to prepare their homes and families and, if necessary, evacuate according to the instructions of local authorities," warned the U.S. weather agency.

The hurricane is moving towards the east-northeast at 19 km/h and is expected to continue on this trajectory, approaching the west coast of Florida on this October 9, where it could make landfall as a major hurricane.