Hurricane Milton to Make Florida Landfall as a Category 3

Floridians refusing to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton have been warned to write their names on their leg for identification purposes, as authorities brace for the storm’s impact.
William Tokajer, the police chief of Holmes Beach, issued the stark warning to residents, telling them, “If you don’t leave, you’re on your own.”
“Take a pen and write your name and social security number on your leg so that we have a contact if we find you,” Tokajer told CNN on Tuesday. “Because this is not going to end well.”
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According to news outlet FOX4, the advice was repeated by Sheriff Bill Prummell of Charlotte County, Florida,
In a news conference on Oct. 8, Prummell reportedly said “If you choose to stay, find yourself a permanent marker. Write your name, your date of birth, and your next of kin on your arm, so we know who you are and who to contact.”
He added: “This is no joke.”
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Gov. Ron DeSantis urged residents on Florida’s barrier islands to evacuate as Hurricane Milton nears, warning that staying home could be dangerous. “Just know that if you get 10 feet of storm surge, you can’t just hunker down with that,” DeSantis said.
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“If you’re on the southern part of this storm, you are going to get storm surge,” he added. “It’s churning massive amounts of water, and that water is going to come out. Man, if you’re anywhere in the eye or south, you are going to get major storm surge.”
Hurricane Milton is forecast to make landfall on Florida’s Gulf Coast late Wednesday or early Thursday, according to weather officials.
“We must be prepared for a major, major impact to the west coast of Florida,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said on Tuesday.
As of Wednesday morning, the storm was located about 210 miles southwest of Tampa and moving northeast at 16 mph.
“We’ve seen a lot of questions about, ‘well I live on a creek,’ or ‘I live on a river, is it really going to get 10 to 15 feet where I live?,'” Sarasota County Emergency Management Chief Sandra Tapfumaneyi said in a briefing early Wednesday.
“That storm surge is going to start at 10 or 15 feet near the coastline and then it’s going to travel,” she said. “And storm surge likes to go on the path of least resistance. So those of you that live near a river, that live near a creek, those river banks, their water will come up.”
“We do not want you staying in your home if you’re anywhere near a body of water,” Tapfumaneyi said.
“This is going to be an intense disaster for Sarasota County,” she added. “Evacuate now if you have not done so already.”
Tropical storm warnings were issued as far north as Savannah, roughly 200 miles from the projected path of the hurricane’s center.
Storm surge of 2 to 4 feet was forecast for Georgia communities including St. Simons Island, home to nearly 16,000 people, and Tybee Island, which has population of 3,100. Wind gusts of up to 45 mph could break off large tree limbs, topple shallow-rooted trees and cause scattered power outages, according to the National Weather Service.
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“The roads and the interstates, they are flowing,” he said, but added that traffic conditions could deteriorate as the day goes on Wednesday.
Shortly before noon Wednesday, officials in Pasco County, home to more than 500,000 people in bedroom communities for Tampa and St. Petersburg, said they were getting ready to take buses off the roads.
“This is your last chance if you need to get to a shelter,” the Pasco County Public Information Office said in a written statement. “After that, you’ll need to find a way to the shelter or be prepared to ride out the storm.”
The county has six shelters open for anyone in mandatory evacuation zones.
Attorney General Ashley Moody said the state is still reeling in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, which hit only two weeks ago, adding that bodies are still being found along the coast of people who could not outlive the storm surge.
Sen. Rick Scott reportedly said during the same press conference: “Nobody up here can save your life if you put yourself in harm’s way.”
Attorney General Moody’s office has been contacted via phone outside of working hours.