Tampa mayor’s warning to residents who don’t evacuate for Milton: 'You are going to die'

Officials in Florida have issued evacuation orders and dire warnings as Hurricane Milton, a Category 4 storm as of Tuesday morning, approaches making landfall in the state less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene devastated Florida and parts of Georgia, the Carolinas and Tennessee.

In a late Tuesday morning update from the National Hurricane Center, meteorologists expanded the storm surge warning along Florida's Gulf Coast and gave residents one final alert to leave the area, saying "Today is the last full day for Florida residents to get their families and homes ready and evacuate if told to do so by local officials."

"Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida," John Cangialosi, a specialist with the National Hurricane Center, said Tuesday.

Hurricane Milton live updates: Florida braces for monster storm

According to the NHC, Milton is expected to turn toward the east-northeast and northeast Tuesday and Wednesday before making landfall in Florida Wednesday night. Potentially deadly storm surges of up to 15 feet are also possible for Tampa and other coastal communities, significantly higher than the already hugely destructive 4-8 foot surges experienced during Helene.

Officials have one very important message to hammer home to residents: take evacuation orders seriously.

Tampa mayor: Residents 'will die' if they don't evacuate

Of Florida's 67 counties, 51 counties are under a state of emergency, according to the Jacksonville Florida Times-Union, part of the USA TODAY network. Zones A, B, C and are subject to mandatory evacuations across several counties.

On Monday evening, Tampa Mayor Jane Castor told CNN in an interview that listening to mandatory orders is crucial for survival.

"I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you're going to die," Castor said. When asked what she would say to those who have ridden out storms in the area in the past, she emphasized that "there's never been one like this before," and said that Milton is shaping up to be "literally catastrophic" with predicted storm surges that are not survivable.

"I've never said that (before). A 10 to 12-foot surge....this is something that I have 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," she said. "People need to get out."

Hurricane Milton tracker: Storm weakens slightly to Category 4; still 'extremely dangerous'

Florida governor: 'Time is going to start running out very, very soon'

Gov. Ron DeSantis told Florida residents in a press briefing Tuesday that "time is running out" to evacuate from areas on Milton's path.

"There's no guarantee what the weather's going to be like starting Wednesday morning," DeSantis said. "You may have a window where it may be safe, but you may not. So use today as your day to finalize and execute the plan that is going to protect you and your family."

DeSantis signed an executive order eliminating tolls on western Florida roads.

"You have an opportunity today to do what you need to do to execute this plan. You have time today but do it. Time is going to start running out very, very soon," he said.

President Biden: Milton could be 'the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century'

In a press conference held on Tuesday, Biden said Milton "could be one of the worst storms in 100 years in Florida."

"The current path of the storm (is expected to hit) Tampa Bay area and cut directly across the state, east to west, all the way across the state, with the potential for this storm to both enter Florida as a hurricane and leave Florida as a hurricane on the Atlantic coast." He said. "This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century. God willing it won't be, but that's what it's looking like right now."

Biden also assured any support local leaders ask for "they will get," saying he already has thousands of federal responders on the grounds to deliver resources as fast as possible.

Pinellas sheriff: 'This is going to be bad'

On Sunday, Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told citizens and business owners in a press conference that any businesses refusing to heed evacuation orders would be shut down.

"In the past, mandatory evacuation orders have been issued and bars stay open," he said. "Restaurants stay open. And people just go about their business in stores. That's not going to happen this time. We're going to shut you down because we can't have the tragedy that we had a week and a half ago."

"This is going to be bad," he added. "Everyone just needs to get out."

Sarasota mayor: 'It's not survivable'

Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert told ABC News that residents should not let past experiences of riding out storms lure them into a false sense of security.

"Even in a highrise, it's still going to be dangerous," she said. "I have stayed because we haven't had anything like this and I have to say I'm really concerned."

She said she is most concerned about the storm surge predicted to be as high as 10 to 15 feet, saying it will "cover completely all of our barrier islands and cover houses that are two stories tall. Then these really excessive winds, unheard of kind of wind in a hurricane."

She likewise told NBC News she's told all of her residents they have to evacuate. "It's not survivable to survive a 10 to 15-foot storm surge. It just simply isn't," she said. "I think people are heeding that warning after having lived through Helene."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tampa mayor tells residents to evacuate or 'you're going to die'