Tampa Mayor Jane Castor did not mince words about residents staying behind in areas evacuated because of Hurricane Milton. At the moment, Castor said Hurricane Milton will be catastrophic. “And I can say without any drop of hesitation whatsoever if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re going to die,” said Castor in a Monday interview on CNN..Winds of up to 250 km/h are expected to hit Tampa on Wednesday.CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins responded by saying said she was stunned. “That is an incredibly blunt message,” said Collins. “And I know that you have a lot of experience dealing with these storms.” Because of Castor’s experience with dealing with hurricanes, Collins said she was not saying that lightly. Castor said she has never said that before. If Hurricane Milton heads south, she said it will save Tampa from the storm surge. If it stays on the track it is projected to be on right now or goes north, she said it will be destructive. She called this “something I’ve never seen in my life, and I can tell you that anyone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before.” Castor concluded by saying people need to get out. “If we have that predicted storm surge, it is not survivable,” she said. The National Hurricane Centre (NHC) said damaging hurricane-force winds and a life-threatening storm surging with destructive waves are expected across portions of the northern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula on Tuesday. “A large area of destructive storm surge, with highest inundations of 10 feet or greater, is expected along a portion of the west-central coast of the Florida Peninsula,” said the NHC. “If you are in the Storm Surge Warning Area, this is an extremely life-threatening situation, and you should evacuate today if ordered by local officials.”.If people wait until Wednesday, the NHC said there will likely not be enough time to leave. It pointed out devastating hurricane-force winds are expected along portions of Florida’s west coast, where a hurricane warning is in effect. Forecasts indicate Hurricane Milton will remain a hurricane as it crosses the Florida Peninsula, and life-threatening hurricane-force winds are expected to spread inland across it. The NHC said preparations to protect life and property and plans to be ready for power outages should be completed by Tuesday night. “Heavy rainfall across the Florida Peninsula through Thursday brings the risk of life-threatening flash and urban flooding along with moderate to major river flooding, especially areas where coastal and inland flooding combine to increase the overall flood threat,” it said. The International Space Station orbited above Hurricane Milton as it built up over the southern Gulf of Mexico. The clouds merged together as the hurricane storm moved on. However, a circle where clouds would merge continued to build up. .More clouds continued to trail behind it. While clouds were dominating the area, water remained open close behind. Tens of thousands of Floridians headed for higher ground on Monday as Hurricane Milton — one of the strongest storms in memory — bore down on them..Florida braces for devasting Hurricane Milton .Experts said Milton — estimated to be the biggest storm in 100 years — headed for an 8 p.m. landing in Tampa and along Florida's Gulf Coast.Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator Deanne Criswell visited Tampa and met with Castor as the area prepared for it.
