By Belize Live News Staff: A steady rain is affecting the Tampa Bay area on Wednesday morning as Hurricane Milton, a powerful storm fluctuating between Category 4 and 5, advances toward Florida’s west coast. Officials have ordered millions of residents to evacuate, but some have chosen to remain and face the odds.
Tampa Bay, home to over 3.3 million people, has not experienced a direct hit from a major hurricane in over a century. The National Hurricane Center has warned that Milton could be one of the most destructive storms in the region’s history, with the hurricane expected to make landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday. The storm’s sustained winds, storm surge, and rainfall could have devastating effects, even if the final intensity fluctuates between wind speed categories.
“Milton has the potential to be one of the most destructive hurricanes on record for west-central Florida,” the center cautioned, highlighting the extreme danger posed by the storm.
As the storm approaches, Tampa’s usually busy interstate was empty, with only a few vehicles seen moving on side streets. Many gas stations were closed and shuttered, with fuel pumps wrapped in plastic to prevent damage from the hurricane’s anticipated winds.
