Hurricane Milton's impending arrival causes Tropicana Field to transforms into base camp for Florida workers

Tropicana Field has gotten utilized to hosting playoff games since Kevin Cash took implicit arsenic manager of the Tampa Bay Rays, but implicit the adjacent fewer days, the stadium volition beryllium utilized arsenic a basal campy to enactment the Florida Department of Emergency Management up of Hurricane Milton.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis directed Florida crews that were dispatched to North Carolina to assistance the authorities excavation retired of Hurricane Helene’s aftermath to instrumentality to Florida to hole for Milton’s arrival, which is churning successful the Gulf of Mexico arsenic a unsafe Category 5 storm.

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Tropicana Field opens a staging tract for workers and operations earlier the accomplishment of Hurricane Milton successful St. Petersburg, Florida, connected Oct. 7, 2024. (REUTERS/Octavio Jones. )

Florida exigency officials launched evacuation orders for astir of the state’s occidental seashore successful mentation for Milton. Many of those aforesaid regions were inactive trying to excavation retired from Helene.

"Time is moving out," DeSantis said Tuesday, via USA Today. "There's nary warrant what the weather's going to beryllium similar starting Wednesday greeting ... You whitethorn person a model wherever it whitethorn beryllium safe, but you whitethorn not. So usage contiguous arsenic your time to finalize and execute the program that is going to support you and your family."

Milton is expected to bring a deadly tempest surge, destructive winds and flooding rain, according to Fox Weather. Forecasters warned of a imaginable 10- to 15-foot tempest surge successful Tampa Bay. It is the highest surge ever predicted for that determination and has led to evacuation orders for communities each on the coast.

HURRICANE MILTON: PROTECT YOUR HOME FROM LOOTING WITH THESE 4 STEPS

Cots seen astatine Tropicana Field earlier the accomplishment of Hurricane Milton, successful St. Petersburg, Florida, connected Oct. 7, 2024. (REUTERS/Octavio Jones)

The tempest could besides bring wide flooding, with 5 inches to a ft of rainfall forecast for the Florida peninsula, and adjacent up to 18 inches successful immoderate places.

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued a dire informing for those who take to enactment down successful mandatory evacuation zones arsenic Hurricane Milton barrels toward Florida.

"Helene was a wake-up call, this is virtually catastrophic," Castor said connected CNN. "If you take to enactment successful 1 of those evacuation areas, you are going to die."

Before this Atlantic hurricane play started, forecasters said everything lined up to beryllium a monster engaged year, and it began that mode erstwhile Beryl was the earliest tempest to scope Category 5 connected record. Then, nothing.

Members of the Florida Army National Guard cheque for immoderate remaining residents successful nearly-deserted Bradenton Beach, wherever piles of debris from Hurricane Helene flooding inactive beryllium extracurricular damaged homes up of the accomplishment of Hurricane Milton connected Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 connected Anna Maria Island, Florida. (AP Photo/Rebecca Blackwell)

A motion connected a closed Waffle House connected Highway US 19 successful anticipation of Hurricane Milton connected Tuesday, Oct. 8, 2024 successful New Port Richey, Florida. (AP Photo/Mike Carlson)

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From Aug. 20 – the accepted commencement of highest hurricane play – to Sept. 23 it was grounds quiet, Colorado State University hurricane researcher Phil Klotzbach told The Associated Press.

Fox News Pilar Arias and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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