Highways main out of Florida are jammed for miles as residents evacuate the Sunshine State earlier than Hurricane Milton lands this week.
Since Hurricane Milton was upgraded to a Class 5 storm, thousands and thousands of residents have packed up their issues to exit the state, solely to be met with gridlock visitors.
Hillsborough County within the Tampa Bay Space has ordered evacuations amongst its residents.
Hillsborough County Hearth Chief Jason Dougherty, whereas ordering residents to evacuate, gave an eerie warning, “In case you stay there, you can die. My women and men might die attempting to rescue you. They’re heroes, however please don’t put them in that scenario. Assist them by leaving zones A and B right this moment.”
WATCH:
Please be suggested that I-75 between Morris Bridge and Bruce B Downs is experiencing important backups. I-275 northbound heading into Pasco County can be seeing heavy visitors, with important slowdowns beginning at 275 and Livingston Avenue.
We… pic.twitter.com/1KpLXXUK5h
— HCSO (@HCSOSheriff) October 7, 2024
#BREAKING
Hundreds stay stranded in Florida as Hurricane Milton approaches. Evacuation orders have led to freeway gridlock, and quite a few fuel stations have run out of gasoline. pic.twitter.com/J4piBewNv7— .aspendos (@aspendos_1789) October 8, 2024
Per The New York Post:
Highways out of Florida are backed up for miles as panicked residents try and flee the state earlier than Hurricane Milton’s landfall later this week.
Hurricane Milton stands at Class 5, the very best ranking on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It’s anticipated to have winds stronger than 157 miles per hour.
In Hillsborough County, house to almost 1.5 million individuals within the Tampa Bay space, residents are scrambling as native management orders the evacuation of zones A and B — basically anybody dwelling instantly on the coast or simply outdoors.
“We’ve ordered evacuations for zones A and B for an excellent purpose,” Hillsborough County Hearth Chief Jason Dougherty stated throughout a press briefing in Tampa, as reported by the Florida Phoenix.
As residents evacuated from the state, many shops within the Tampa space had been left barren.
LOOK:
Went inside this #Tampa Walmart. The produce and frozen meals cabinets are empty. An worker informed us they put all the pieces in trailers forward of Hurricane #Milton so it wouldn’t go dangerous. She stated they didn’t do that in Hurricane #Helene and ended up shedding rather a lot, @nbc6. pic.twitter.com/GSD2ozvSkd
— Niko Clemmons (@NBCNiko) October 8, 2024
Gasoline shortages have additionally been reported as residents are fleeing the Sunshine State.
CNN reported that over 1,000 gasoline stations have run out of gasoline.