‘You are going to die’: Tampa mayor issues a chilling warning as Florida braces for Hurricane Milton

Ahead of the ‘catastrophic’ Hurricane Milton, the Tampa Bay mayor issued a dire warning for residents who paid no heed to the calls for evacuation.

Mayor Jane Castor said on CNN, “If you choose to stay … you are going to die.” Castor warned the people of the “literally catastrophic” hurricane that was heading towards Florida.

Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm,, is likely to make landfall as early as Wednesday, October 9. It is expected to be deadlier than Hurricane Helene, which wreaked havoc in the Sunshine State last week, claiming over 230 lives.

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Mayor Castor urged residents not to try to brave the storm; otherwise, it is going to be fatal. She told people in the evacuation zones to flee from the area.

“I can tell you right now they might have done that in others, there’s never been one like this,” Castor said. “And Helene was a wake-up call, this is literally catastrophic.”

'This is not survivable'

“And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” added Castor, who has remained in office since 2019.

According to reports, Milton is the second-strongest Gulf hurricane ever recorded. Experts have predicted powerful winds at 180 mph accompanied by heavy downpours. The storm is likely to become stronger as it nears the Florida coast.

Castor noted that the storm could result in tides as high as 10-12 feet as per some predictions. Hurricane Helene recorded a tidal surge of 6 feet, which was “literally devastating to so many in our coastal area,” Castor said.

“This is something that I’ve never seen in my life and I can tell you anyone born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before,” Castor emphasised. “People need to get out.”

“If we have this predicted storm surge, this is not survivable,” she added.

Meteorologists are including the storm in the top five for strongest hurricanes in the Atlantic, Gulf, and Caribbean.

A meteorologist wrote on X, “I am at a loss for words to meteorologically describe you the storm's small eye and intensity.”

(With inputs from agencies)