Tampa Mayor Warns Residents To Evacuate Ahead Of Hurricane Milton: ‘If You Choose To Stay, You’re Going To Die’

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor has warned residents to evacuate as Hurricane Milton approaches Florida.

“I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die,” Castor said on CNN on Sunday.

Hurricane Milton is expected to wreak havoc in the Tampa Bay metro area on Oct. 9 – it was said to start as at least a Category 3 storm. Around 15 million people are under flood watches, and 11 million are at risk for tropical tornadoes in eight counties.

Florida officials are deeming this the largest storm since Hurricane Irma in 2017. Residents are still boarding up windows and trying to clear debris from Hurricane Helene, which struck less than two weeks ago.

Milton’s winds reached up to 180 miles per hour on Sunday, making it a Category 5 storm before it was downgraded to Category 4 on Tuesday. It is anticipated to be the most powerful storm to hit the Tampa area in a century.

On Monday, NBC 6 South Florida meteorologist John Morales got emotional while talking about the storm during his live segment.

“I apologize,” he said. “This is just horrific.”

NBC News senior national correspondent Tom Llamas spoke with Tampa resident Jaina Thatch on Tuesday about the effects of Helene and the threat of Milton.

“My kids can’t unsee what happened last time, and I don’t want that to be another experience for them,” she said.