Floridians urgently evacuate as catastrophic Hurricane Milton nears US Gulf Coast -VIDEO

Floridians had their final chance on Wednesday to evacuate or prepare for the imminent arrival of Category 5 Hurricane Milton, which could become one of the most destructive storms to ever hit the US Gulf Coast.

With more than 1 million people in coastal areas under evacuation orders, those fleeing for higher ground clogged highways and gas stations ran out of fuel, further rattling a region still recovering from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

The storm was on a collision course for the Tampa Bay metropolitan area, home to more than 3 million people, though forecasters said the path could vary before the storm makes landfall late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

The storm is on a rare west-to-east path through the Gulf of Mexico and is likely to bring a deadly storm surge of 10 feet (3 meters) or more to much of Florida's Gulf Coast.

Officials from U.S. President Joe Biden to Tampa Mayor Jane Castor warned people in evacuation zones to get out or risk death.

Milton packed maximum sustained winds of 160 mph (260 kph), the U.S. National Hurricane Center said, putting it at the highest level on the five-step Saffir-Simpson scale.

While wind speeds could drop and downgrade Milton to a lesser category, the size of the storm was growing, putting ever more coastal areas in danger.

Milton was expected to maintain hurricane strength as it crosses the Florida peninsula, posing storm surge danger on the state's Atlantic Coast as well.

About 2.8% of U.S. gross domestic product is in the direct path of Milton, said Ryan Sweet, chief U.S. economist at Oxford Economics. Airlines, energy firms and a Universal Studios theme park were among the companies beginning to halt their Florida operations as they braced for disruptions.

Milton became the third-fastest intensifying storm on record in the Atlantic, growing from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in less than 24 hours.

More than five and a half million people left their homes in #Florida due to #hurricanemilton2024 , The #newyorktimes writes. pic.twitter.com/JPyXxrO2Zj

— News.Az (@news_az) October 9, 2024

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