Evacuations in Florida due to Hurricane Milton, may reach wind speeds that go beyond Category 5

After mandatory evacuations began Monday, roads were 150% overcrowded, even as officials urged residents to go to nearby shelters and not travel far.

 

Milton is expected to hit Tampa Bay. The area has not been directly hit by hurricanes in over a century.

Hurricane Milton, currently moving towards the US state of Florida, may reach wind speeds that go beyond Category 5, currently the highest on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

US President Joe Biden begged residents to flee what he warned could be the worst natural disaster to hit the state in a century.

"It's a matter of life and death, and that's not hyperbole," Mr Biden said from the White House, urging those under orders to leave to "evacuate now, now, now."

The storm's strength is due, in part, to the extremely warm oceans it travels through. Sea surface temperatures in this area of ​​the world are significantly higher than normal, which scientists say has become many times more likely due to climate change.

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