Hurricane Milton forced major evacuations across central Florida on Tuesday as it heads toward landfall tonight with sustained winds of 165 mph.
The massive hurricane is heading directly for Tampa and St Petersburg but is so big that officials have issued mandatory evacuation orders for 11 Florida counties, covering nearly 6 million people.
Fleeing residents caused traffic jams in the Tampa area, while elsewhere people boarded up homes and businesses and shelters have been set up around the state. Estimates of potential damage are as high as $175 billion. Florida’s tourism industry also made preparations for the storm as airlines canceled hundreds of flights, theme parks closed, and cruise lines shifted routes.