As fall is approaching, hurricanes in the south are too. Today, hundreds of cars are on their way north from Florida due to Hurricane Milton, which will strike the west coast of Florida late tonight.

Milton is categorized as a Category 5 storm, which has winds of 180 miles per hour and tidal surges of 10-12 feet. Milton is estimated to become the second-strongest Gulf storm in history, comparable to previous storms such as Sandy, Katrina, and Harvey, which all have caused major destruction in Florida. 

“If you choose to stay…you are going to die,” Mayor Jane Castor bluntly said about Hurricane Milton, a “literally catastrophic” Category 5 hurricane. Castor further emphasized that attempting to ride out the storm would also be lethal. “I can tell you right now they might have done that in others, there’s never been one like this, and Helene was a wakeup call, this is literally catastrophic.” 

The hurricane has caused a significant amount of panic in Florida as residents evacuate, especially in areas with mandatory evacuation orders. Gas stations in many areas of Florida are running dry, with as many as 1,300 gas stations running out of fuel statewide. The Governor of Florida, Ron DeSantis, attempted to tamp down the panic buying of gas. He assured residents in a press conference Tuesday morning that the state is working to bring emergency supplies of gasoline to stations. Even after the storm passes, gas problems could continue to persist. Since there will be damage to the Port of Tampa from the hurricane, tanker trunks will not be able to distribute gas statewide which will have a lasting impact for some time.