Stormwatch: Hurricane Milton Approaches

 

Photos: AP

BY C STONE | STONE NEWS NETWORK

Long lines leaving Florida - and the Tampa Bay region - have been increasing over the past few days. As many predict it could be a once-in-a-lifetime storm, Milton is a cat 5 storm. With it, comes massive storm surge, damaging winds, and torrential rainstorms. FEMA, and all government agencies have warned residents to evacuate before its' too late. Governor Ron DeSantis has said the state deployed 300 dump trucks and have removed 1,300 loads of debris left from Hurricane Helene.

Predicted to make landfall on Wednesday evening near 7PM, Milton is still a Category 5 storm. The Tampa bay area has a population of 3.3 million, and there are 11 Florida counties under a mandatory evacuation order. Overall, it's home to 5.9 million people. Cancelled flights and transportation have started.

“You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” DeSantis told a news conference, assuring residents there would be enough gasoline to fuel their cars for the trip. “You can evacuate tens of miles. You do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away.”

About 18 inches of rain is predicted to be dumped over the next fewy days - and is the 13th named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Long lines of drivers waiting to fill up and escape the dangerous storm are increasing. But some people are choosing to stay despite the dire warnings from authorities. To them, this is just another storm in the line of other hurricanes. 

Ralph Douglas, who lives in neighboring Ruskin, said he, too, will stay put, in part because he worries about running out of gas trying to return after the storm or getting blocked by debris.

“Where I’m at right now, I don’t think I need to evacuate,” he said.

Whether or not he made the right decision - we will only know after the storm. And for some people, that thought is terrifying.