A creepy video circulating on social media shows officials in Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches and the National Hurricane Center (NHC) warns that its window of opportunity is “rapidly drawing to a close.” He is seen riding around the area warning people it's time to leave. .
Videos on social media show vehicles driving through neighborhoods sharing automated messages through the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office warning of “significant storm surge” and high winds.
“Now is the time to leave,” the paper said, claiming there would be a mandatory evacuation and adding: “Leave now.”
Another video shows another vehicle issuing a similar warning in Pasco County, claiming residents “must leave the area now.”
“Time is running out to safely evacuate,” the statement continued, warning of damage from storm surges and strong winds.
Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall somewhere in the Tampa area as a strong Category 4 storm. However, Milton will maintain hurricane status even after moving off the East Coast, so the impact will be felt throughout the state.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor prompt Residents should take evacuation orders seriously.
“I've said many times that I want to take on Mother Nature and she's winning 100 percent,” she said Tuesday.
“And the people in here say you're in a one-story house. It's 12 feet above that house,” she said, referring to the potential for catastrophic storm surge.
“So if you're in it, it's basically the coffin you're in,” she added.
Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday morning that residents still have time to evacuate, explaining that they don't need to travel hundreds of miles to evacuate.
“So this track could bounce. There's no guarantee that it's going to hit there. Many solutions do that. We have time to do it now. Conditions aren't going to be good today,” he said. “I think the roads and interstates have good flow,” he said.
“We've waived tolls. We've done everything we can to help people, but probably the best option is to evacuate to one of the shelters within your county.” he continued.
“All of these counties have multiple shelters that are open. Right now, those shelters have plenty of space and they're tens of miles farther than you can get on the interstate and the roads are still open. It's definitely safer to do a very short evacuation,” said the governor, who is used to hurricanes. Response — Added.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) caveat A “devastating storm surge” of more than 10 feet has occurred along the west coast of Florida, calling the situation “extremely life-threatening.”
“If you have been told to evacuate by local authorities, the time to evacuate is rapidly coming to an end,” it warns.
