Hurricane Milton Could Be the Worst Storm of the Century as Officials Warn, ‘If You Stay, You’re Gonna Die.’.ngocchau

People refusing to evacuate as Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida are being told by local officials that they’re “gonna die” if they stay and weather what might be the worst storm to hit the area in over 100 years.

“This is literally catastrophic, and I can say without dramatization whatsoever — if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told CNN in an interview earlier in the week.

Milton shocked meteorologists after it rapidly intensified from a Tropical Storm that formed over the weekend into a powerful Category 5 hurricane in a matter of days — one of the most rapid intensification of a storm that’s ever been seen, according to some experts.

“Anyone who was born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this,” Castor added in the CNN interview. Evacuation orders are in place for the entire region as well, but some are stubbornly refusing to leave. Others simply can’t — there’s no gas left, or they simply can’t afford to leave.

An 8- to 12-foot storm surge from Milton is possible, as is several inches of rain and nasty winds that are now around 155 mph — Category 4 level after the storm weakened a bit over the past day. Winds reached a peak of 180 mph, it was reported.

The storm has been fueled by the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico, meteorologists said. It’s expected to weaken a bit more before it hits Florida, but not by much. Some meteorologists say it could be a Category 3 by the time it reaches land, meaning wind speeds of 111 mph to 129 mph.

The storm nevertheless poses “an extremely serious threat to Florida,” some forecasters said, according to the Daily Mail. It’s also the first time a major storm is slated to hit the Tampa Bay region head-on in over 100 years.

Tampa, which has about 3.3. million people in its metropolitan area, is currently buckling down for the brunt of the storm, as are several other communities that find themselves in the path of the hurricane. It’s expected to make landfall late Wednesday.

As people began to evacuate, video shows Interstate 75 and other highways filling up fast with cars. French publication L’important posted helicopter footage that showed the northbound lanes of the highway filled with barely-moving traffic.

Many are racing to leave the state altogether — which was just battered a couple of weeks ago by Hurricane Helene, which left debris on many of the highways people are using to evacuate.