A previous version of this story featured remarks from President Joe Biden that were displayed as being made live but were recorded a few minutes earlier. We regret the error.

(NewsNation) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has urged Florida residents in danger zones to leave today ahead of Hurricane Milton’s expected landfall on Wednesday evening.

DeSantis made the comments during a press conference on the state’s preparations on Tuesday afternoon.

“If you’re going to get out, get out now,” DeSantis said. “You have time today. Time will be running out.”

President Joe Biden on Tuesday noted the rapid intensification of the storm earlier this week when it went from a Category 1 to a Category 5 in a day. It was downgraded to a Category 4 early Tuesday before ramping back up to a Category 5 later in the afternoon.

Biden addressed the public Tuesday, canceling his overseas trip and hunkering down at the White House to assist with Milton preparations.

“I’m canceling my trip to Germany and Africa. I don’t think I can be out of the country at this time,” Biden said during the Tuesday news conference.

It is expected to be powerful when it makes landfall in Florida between Wednesday night and Thursday morning near the Tampa Bay area.

“Get out now while you can,” National Hurricane Center Director Dr. Michael Brennan said in a live update streamed by the organization.

Brennan emphasized that you need to only travel tens of miles rather than hundreds to find safety, and that attempting to evacuate too late has led to deaths in previous hurricanes.

The latest National Hurricane Center forecast has the storm crossing over the entire state of Florida and entering the Atlantic Ocean by Thursday evening.

David Decarlo, the director of emergency management for Hernando County, Florida, warned his fellow Floridians that what’s shown on the radar is not the extent of the damages.

“As it gets closer to the west coast, it’s going to expand greatly both in length and in width,” Decarlo warned. “It’s going to be about 350 miles each way.”

Tampa Mayor Jane Castor shared a grave message for her constituents, telling CNN: “Helene was a wake-up call, this is literally catastrophic, and I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.”

“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century,” Biden said. “God-willing it won’t be, but that’s what it’s looking like right now.”

He continued, “If you are under an evacuation order, you should evacuate now. You should have already evacuated. It’s a matter of life and death, and that’s not a hyperbole.”

Tracking Milton in Helene’s wake

Hurricane Milton remains on track to be the worst storm to hit the Tampa Bay area in over a century, the National Weather Service in Tampa Bay also said. The region has become home to more than 3 million people and is one of the most vulnerable metropolitan areas in the U.S. to storm surge.

“Hurricane Milton is still a major hurricane,” Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said at an early morning news conference Tuesday.

DeSantis warned Floridians that the hurricane could “wobble,” meaning it could hit at any point whether it is north of Tampa, Tampa, or south of Tampa.

“Wherever it makes landfall, there’s going to be impacts far beyond what the cone actually shows,” DeSantis warned.

It intensified quickly Monday, going from a Category 1 to Category 5 in less than 24 hours, and became only the second Category 5 hurricane to form in the Gulf of Mexico since 1966.

It reached an incredibly low pressure Tuesday night, which generally correlates with a storm’s strength. The lower a system’s pressure, the stronger the hurricane.

Almost the entirety of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane warning Tuesday as the storm crept toward the state, sucking energy from the Gulf of Mexico’s warm water. The strongest Atlantic hurricane on record is 1980’s Allen, which reached wind speeds of 190 mph as it moved through the Caribbean and Gulf before striking Texas and Mexico.

Milton’s center could come ashore Wednesday in the Tampa Bay region, which has not endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century. Scientists expect the system to weaken slightly before landfall, though it could retain hurricane strength as it churns across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean.

That would largely spare other states ravaged by Helene, which killed at least 230 people on its path from Florida to the Appalachian Mountains.

Forecasters warn the area Tampa Bay area could see a storm surge of up to 12 feet.

“Now is the time to execute your plan,” DeSantis said. He warned that “time is running out” for residents to finalize their emergency plans ahead of Milton’s landfall.

Evacuations from Florida underway

As of Monday afternoon, there were already traffic backups of people attempting to leave the Tampa area, leading authorities to institute emergency shoulder use, allowing vehicles to travel on the inside shoulder of the road.

Northbound traffic on Interstate 75 was bumper to bumper for miles, moving at roughly 6 mph as Floridians and tourists alike tried to flee the state Monday.

Flights out of the Tampa area were halted Tuesday as both Tampa International Airport and St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport closed in preparation for Milton.

FDOT says major bridges are expected to close given the upcoming hazardous weather conditions from Milton, including the Sunshine Skyway Bridge, Howard Frankland and Gandy Bridges, and the Courtney Campbell Causeway.

According to DeSantis’ website, 10 hospitals have reported evacuations as of Tuesday afternoon.

Preparing for Hurricane Milton

Biden has approved an emergency declaration for South Florida to allow federal resources to assist state and local efforts.

The Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra declared a public health emergency for Florida on Tuesday evening, which will allow health care providers working with Medicare and Medicaid greater flexibility in “meeting emergency health needs.”

DeSantis urged residents to execute preparedness plans, noting there was still time to get ready, but that any preparations have to be done quickly. He also detailed efforts being made to protect critical infrastructure such as water treatment plants, and he urged people to stock up on fuel ahead of the storm.

In a Monday briefing with reporters, DeSantis called the hurricane “ferocious” and emphasized the system’s rapid strengthening.

“At the strength it is now, this is a really, really strong storm. The effects of that, not just from the storm surge but from wind damage and debris, will be really, really significant,” DeSantis said. “This is not a storm you want to take a risk on.”

DeSantis also announced that 30,000 linemen were headed to Florida from all over the country to assist with cleanup and repairs after the storm.

Less than an hour later, the U.S. National Hurricane Center issued storm surge warnings and hurricane warnings for almost all of Florida’s west coast.

The hurricane center also issued storm surge watches on the U.S. East Coast, including much of Florida up to parts of South Carolina.

“If you are in an evacuation area, I beg you, I implore you to leave,” said Florida Emergency Management Director Kevin Guthrie. “Drowning deaths from storm surges are 100% preventable if you leave.”

Residents have been urged to resupply disaster kits that may have been depleted during Helene, and officials urged those with special needs on Monday to sign up for the state registry as soon as possible.

Officials also urged those with the means to do so to get on the road as soon as possible and to consider hotels in areas less likely to be hard hit, especially people who are reliant on power for medical devices.

DeSantis noted that people do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles and that those on barrier islands and in low-lying areas may be able to go to a shelter in their county.

The state is preparing for the largest evacuation since Hurricane Irma in 2017 when 7 million people were told to evacuate. Tolls have been suspended to aid in evacuation efforts and hotels have offered disaster rates, which also include accepting pets regardless of if a hotel is usually pet-friendly.

Ahead of the storm, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers announced the team would be relocating to the New Orleans area for the week. DeSantis said the state would not be extending the deadline for voter registration because of the storm.

Evacuation orders: Should I stay, or should I go?

Treasure Island is a small beach community in Pinellas County, Florida, hit hard by Hurricane Helene’s storm surge two weeks ago. The storm caused catastrophic damage, leaving behind mounds of sand and debris on sidewalks and front lawns.

Now, the community is in the path of Hurricane Milton, and residents have been urged to evacuate ahead of the storm.

“They’re scared but they don’t really know what to do. We want to leave but we also want to stay. We’re being told that we need to leave, but we’re scared. Are we making the right decision?” said Tampa resident Robert Zastudil in an interview with NewsNation local affiliate WFLA.

This is in Treasure Island, Florida — right in the pathway of a potential direct hit from Hurricane #Milton. Look at how much debris is still left in neighborhoods from Helene. The state is trying to clean a lot of this up, but it seems near impossible to do in the next 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/13gwKfzWXN

— Ryan Bass (@Ry_Bass) October 7, 2024

Florida’s goal is to clean up as much of the Helene debris as possible before Milton makes landfall. One of the state’s top fears for Milton is that it will kick back up the debris left behind by Helene and cause further damage to the community.

However, due to the excessive debris, DeSantis has urged residents in vulnerable areas to evacuate now before it’s too late.

As of Tuesday morning, 11 counties along Florida’s west coast were under evacuation orders, and 51 out of the state’s 67 counties were under a state of emergency.

Weather experts forecast the hurricane storm surge will reach anywhere from 8 to 12 feet in some places.

To encourage residents to evacuate ahead of the storm, the city of St. Petersburg said it would likely shut off northeast and southwest sewage plants, meaning 66% of the town would not be able to flush toilets or take showers for at least 24 hours.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch warned that if the city takes a direct hit, the rebuilding of electric and water services could take a long time.