Florida evacuates ahead of Hurricane Milton with 155mph storm worst in 100 years as officials warn ‘you will die’

THOUSANDS of radical are fleeing Florida arsenic a monster 155mph hurricane barrels towards the state.

Hurricane Milton's near-record winds and expected tempest surge are acceptable to bring demolition to areas already reeling from Helene's devastation 12 days ago.

The Category 4 hurricane is expected to marque landfall successful Florida connected Wednesday.

More than a cardinal radical person to ordered to evacuate from its way - with a further six cardinal enactment nether hurricane ticker warning.

The tempest volition beryllium the worst to interaction the Tampa country successful much than 100 years if it stays connected the existent track, according to the National Weather Service.

Mayor Jane Castor warned the city's astir 400,000 residents to urgently evacuate.

She told CNN: "I tin accidental this without immoderate dramatization whatsoever: if you take to enactment successful 1 of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.

"This is thing that I person ne'er seen successful my beingness and anyone who was calved and raised successful the Tampa Bay country has ne'er seen this before."

Florida politician Ron DeSantis said the hurricane is already acold stronger than predicted 2 days ago.

He said: "This is simply a ferocious hurricane.

"At the spot it is now, this is simply a really, truly beardown storm.

"The effects of that, not conscionable from the tempest surge but from upwind harm and debris, volition beryllium really, truly significant.

"This is not a tempest you privation to instrumentality a hazard on."

The Interstate 75 northbound was bumper to bumper and moving astatine conscionable 7mph connected Monday day arsenic terrified residents fled the state.

Authorities person opened up the near northbound enarthrosis of Interstate 75 from Tampa to Interstate 10 successful northbound Florida, and on eastbound Interstate 4, to assistance motorists get away.

Almost the entirety of Florida's westbound seashore was nether a hurricane informing aboriginal Tuesday arsenic the Category 4 tempest and its 155mph winds crept toward the authorities astatine 9mph.

The strongest Atlantic hurricane connected grounds is 1980's Allen, which reached upwind speeds of 190mph arsenic it moved done the Caribbean and Gulf earlier striking Texas and Mexico.

Forecasters warned of a imaginable 8- to 12-foot tempest surge successful Tampa Bay. 

Milton's halfway could travel ashore Wednesday successful the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a nonstop deed by a large hurricane successful much than a century.

Scientists expect the strategy to weaken somewhat earlier landfall, though it could clasp hurricane spot arsenic it churns crossed cardinal Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.

That would mostly spare different states ravaged by Helene, which killed astatine slightest 230 radical connected its way from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.