Traffic was snarled on Florida highways Monday as residents in the Tampa area left their homes as a Category 5 hurricane approached.
Videos released by local authorities on the X showed lines of vehicles slowly moving out of the Tampa area. The video was accompanied by a message urging residents to drive safely and anticipating long delays.
Hurricane Milton rapidly strengthened in the southern Gulf of Mexico on Monday as it approached the northern edge of the Yucatan peninsula, which separates the Gulf from the Caribbean Sea, and which is home to tourist attractions and cargo ports, with an impact expected in Florida this week.
The Category 5 hurricane, the strongest on the Saffir-Simpson scale, is expected to generate a storm surge that could raise water levels by up to 6 feet along the northern Yucatan coast, according to the U.S. National Hurricane Center. .
Almost unprecedented rapid intensification
Hurricane Milton rapidly intensified to a nearly unprecedented level, reaching Category 5 status due to record heat in the waters of the Gulf of Mexico.
It is expected to grow in size, meaning that while it may shrink in category, its dangerous impacts will be spread over a much larger area.
The storm is expected to reach the Gulf Coast of Florida this Wednesday (9). The eye of the hurricane could land anywhere along the Florida coast: from Cedar Key in the north to Naples in the south, possibly including the Tampa or Ft. Myers areas.
Recently, Hurricane Helene made landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast as a storm surge and made landfall in the swamp region as a Category 4 hurricane.
Authorities are asking residents — still recovering from the damage — to evacuate or prepare for another life-threatening storm.
This content was originally published in Florida residents congest roads fleeing Hurricane Milton on the CNN Brasil website.
Source: CNN Brasil
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