Florida officials continue to implore residents to evacuate as Hurricane Milton nears landfall tomorrow, with Gov. Ron DeSantis saying on Tuesday that “time is running out” for residents to protect themselves from the deadly storm.
“You have time today. Time is running out,” DeSantis said Tuesday, as NBC News reports. “But you do have time today to heed any evacuation orders and do what you need to do to protect yourself and our families.”
Experts are planning for the worst as Milton — a Category 4 Hurricane — is expected to reach landfall by Wednesday night. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor gave a particularly bleak warning speaking with CNN on Monday evening, saying that “if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die.”
By Tuesday, as NBC reported, Castor called evacuation “literally a difference between life and death.”
Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert’s warning was similarly dire as she spoke with NBC on Tuesday. “What everyone has been saying is, you have to evacuate, it is not survivable, to survive a 10- to 15-foot storm surge,” she said. “”It just simply isn’t.”
Milton comes about two weeks after much of the Southeastern United States was devastated by Hurricane Helene, which knocked out power and phone service and killed more than 200 people. Luke Combs, Eric Church, Billie Strings, and James Taylor are set to headline the “Concert for Carolina” benefit concert in Charlotte later this month, with all the proceeds going to relief efforts for the region.
Milton has similarly destructive potential to Helene, with Castor calling Helene a “wake up call,” on Monday.
NBC6 meteorologist John Morales was brought nearly to tears as he reported on the upcoming storm on Monday. “I apologize,” Morales said. “This is just horrific.”