Cockroach Bay, Fla. — Monster storm Hurricane Milton made landfall late Wednesday, potentially causing once-in-a-century damage to the West Coast and prompting mandatory evacuation orders for nearly 6 million Floridians.
Flooded debris from Hurricane Helen, which hit the Sunshine State less than two weeks ago, still lines the streets of Ruskin on the southeast side of Tampa Bay.
Water levels are expected to be even higher this time, with storm surges of up to 15 feet predicted. And that power will become dramatically violent.
Milton strengthened Tuesday after weakening slightly from one of the most powerful Category 5 storms on record. By evening, the winds had risen to 155 miles per hour, just before returning to Category 5 strength.
Sofas, patio furniture and even boats that were torn apart in last month's storm are likely to become deadly projectiles in the wake of Milton's wrath.
Authorities have begged and threatened residents of evacuation zones to leave.
Follow The Post's latest coverage of Hurricane Milton.
“If you choose to stay here… you're going to die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor bluntly told CNN as a “literally catastrophic” hurricane hurtles towards the Sunshine State. he added.
Despite the warnings, Charlotte Farrell, 80, of Ruskin, off Cockroach Bay, told the Post she wasn't going anywhere.
“Everyone says I should go to a shelter for this child, but my son says he needs to. I haven't decided yet. I'm not leaving town, this is where I am. Home. But if you want to evacuate to a middle school, you can decide later if you want to go there,” she said of Shields Middle School, which has been designated as an evacuation center.
“Yesterday, the police went door to door and told us to leave, mainly because this is a trailer and we are in a flood zone. They said it was mandatory. But if we don't, we're responsible for what happens to us.”
Farrell lives in a tidy mobile home in Ruskin, which is still suffering from apocalyptic flooding from Hurricane Helen, leaving residents in standing water for days.
Recalling last month's terrifying storm, Raskin said she saw water pooling on the kitchen floor and went to get a towel, but by then the water was already ankle-high.
When the water reached her knees, she said: I thought I had to climb onto the table. [the water] It stopped rising,” she said, noting that she was sitting on the back of a sofa with her feet propped up on a cushion as she waited for the deluge to subside.
“The water actually receded quickly, but it ruined a lot of things I had. I had to throw out a lot of mattresses, couches, and upholstery.”
Near Farrell's home, a family loaded up an SUV to avoid danger, following advice from local and state authorities.
“We had some flooding last time, but not as bad as most people in town,” Ruskin resident Ben McLean said.
“I'm really just in the screen room. But this time it could be much worse, so I'm going to Orlando. Please stay away from this situation.”
More than 5,000 National Guard troops have already been deployed to areas devastated by the storm, which Gov. Ron DeSantis said was the largest pre-storm deployment in state history.
The good news is that Hurricane Milton is forecast to move south, away from the worst-case scenario where Tampa, St. Petersburg and Clearwater are directly in its path.
The metropolitan area of 3.2 million people will be spared the worst of the storm, as most models predicted the storm would hit the Sarasota area Tuesday night.
But that doesn't mean the outlook is clear for Tampa, meteorologists said, warning people in evacuation zones to evacuate before “it's too late.”
Milton's path will continue to change until it makes landfall sometime between late Wednesday as it approaches the Florida Gulf Coast and after midnight Thursday, making it difficult for meteorologists to know exactly when and where it will hit the hardest. is impossible.
“There will be a lot of small changes as the storm intensifies and tries to maintain its strength as it heads toward Florida,” FOX Weather meteorologist Stephanie Van Oppen told the Post.
“Any change, even just a few miles, is going to have a big impact, especially for the Tampa Bay area because of how that area is set up geographically,” she said.
Van Oppen said most counties and cities are advising Floridians to evacuate because storms are unpredictable. It will be too late,” he added.
Residents expect the hurricane's path to continue “swinging” north and south over the next 36 hours.
But the storm is expected to be so intense that it could cause life-threatening flooding and storm surge, so forecasters are advising people in evacuation zones to make plans to leave the area.
“The storm is so powerful and intense that we recommend that no one put themselves at risk in areas where evacuation is recommended in case conditions swing north or south. There could be an even bigger impact on individual regions,'' Van Oppen said.
