Millions evacuated as Hurricane Milton closes in on Florida

Over 5.5 million people across 11 counties in Florida’s western coasts were under mandatory or voluntary evacuation orders as Milton restrengthened to a Category 5 Hurricane on Tuesday and is expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area tonight. The evacuation is one of the largest in the state’s history.

It is the strongest storm to hit the Gulf of Mexico since 2005 and is expected to unleash record storm surges and winds.

As of yesterday, more than 1,500 flights were canceled. The storm comes as the region is still recovering from the destruction caused by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago, which claimed 230 lives.