Florida officials have told residents who have not been evacuated from the path of Hurricane Milton to write down their names and information about themselves in case bodies need to be identified after the storm.
Holmes Beach Police Chief Bill Tokaiger said CNN's Paul Murphy said Tuesday: “If you're not careful, you're on your own.”
“You might want to bring a Sharpie and write your name and social security number on your leg so when we find you, you have contact information…because if you’re here Because I can't work even if I'm in the country,'' Tokaiger says. Anna Maria Island in the Tampa Bay area said.
“That's not good for you,” the chief added.
live exterior Murphy said he left the island on Tuesday and was told by Tokaiger, “If you stay here, they can't get you.”
“They were able to perform some water rescues. [Hurricane] Helen. That's not going to happen in Milton,” the CNN reporter said. “He predicts that if the winds that are expected to start here with tropical storm gusts start blowing around 8 a.m. tomorrow, we won't be able to do that by noon.” Please evacuate.”
“Then from noon tomorrow, if you stay here, no help will come. You will be on your own; [the police chief has] We made that very clear,” he added.
The dire warning comes after Tampa Mayor Jane Castor (D) issued a dire warning. caveat:
“If you choose to stay in the evacuation zone, you're going to die,” Castor said in an interview with CNN's Caitlan Collins on Monday.
“This is something I've never seen in my life,” she added. “People need to get outside.”
Caster reiterated his claims Tuesday. press conferencetold voters that their home would become their “coffin.”
“And the people who are in here say you're in a one-story house. The top of that house is 12 feet. So if you're in it, basically that means you're in It’s a coffin,” the mayor said.
The Florida Department of Emergency Management announced Wednesday morning that now is the “last chance for people to respond and evacuate” before Milton makes landfall in the evening.
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) also warned Floridians in a social media post Wednesday morning that time is “running out.”
“As of this morning, Hurricane Milton is still a Category 4 storm. Even if it weakens before landfall, Milton will still be a major hurricane with devastating effects on our state,” the governor said. I wrote to X.
“Now is the time to implement your hurricane preparedness plan. Heed evacuation warnings from local emergency management authorities,” he continued. “Time is running out. But there are still free shelters in your area with huge capacity, traffic is flowing, and shuttles and Ubers are still free. Deadly Storm Surge You don't have to evacuate hundreds of miles, but you do need to evacuate tens of miles to avoid it. You can't do that in your life.”
DeSantis added that “more than 50,000” linemen are at the ready and ready to restore power to the state after the fall of the Milton administration.
The state begins preparing for Milton less than two weeks after Hurricane Helen destroyed parts of the Appalachian Mountains and caused deaths. at least 232 people.
