MIAMI (NewsNation) — As hundreds of thousands of Floridians flee the Gulf Coast, some are finding themselves in traffic backups and gas stations with empty fuel pumps. It’s estimated that nearly 25% of the state’s gas stations are out of fuel ahead of Hurricane Milton.
Some of Florida’s major highways, including Interstate 75 and Interstate Four have been seeing major backups and delays on Tuesday and Wednesday. The Florida Department of Transportation, in some instances, has opened up shoulder lanes of some of those major highways to try and speed up evacuations.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has assured people that his administration is working to bring emergency supplies into the state, with some fuel trucks even being escorted by law enforcement. The time to evacuate and get that fuel to people who need it is running out.
“It’s been, I would say, a tremendous task to get gas,” said Ralph Douglas, a resident of Ruskin, Florida. “Because right now, if you drive from different areas, like during the course of the day, it was difficult because when you drive by, people don’t have any gas.”
Some hotels across the state are also filling up with evacuees. Booking.com says 98% of the hotels in Tallahassee are booked through next Wednesday. The mayor of Jacksonville said hotels in their downtown are full.
Those who have been able to find a room say they were especially concerned about a life-threatening storm surge, the expected widespread power outages, and of course, this back-to-back hit from hurricanes.
Hurricane Milton dropped to a Category 4 early Wednesday. The National Hurricane Center had predicted it would likely weaken, but remain a major hurricane when it makes landfall late Wednesday or early Thursday.
The Tampa Bay area, home to more than 3.3 million people, faced the possibility of widespread destruction after avoiding direct hits from major hurricanes for more than a century.