Evacuation panic in Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton sparks widespread backups and shortages | 7 Oct 2024 | Highways out of Florida are backed up for miles as panicked residents attempt to flee the state before Hurricane Milton’s landfall later this week. Hurricane Milton stands at a Category 5, the highest rating on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale. It is expected to have winds stronger than 157 miles per hour. In Hillsborough County, home to nearly 1.5 million people in the Tampa Bay Area, residents are scrambling as local leadership orders the evacuation of zones A and B --essentially anyone living immediately on the coast or just outside. "We've ordered evacuations for zones A & B for a very good reason," Hillsborough County Fire Chief Jason Dougherty said during a press briefing in Tampa as reported by the Florida Phoenix. "If you remain there, you could die...Help [rescuers] by leaving zones A & B today."