Hurricane Milton: ‘Write your name on your arm so we can identify your body’ people refusing to leave told

The advice to locals refusing to flee monster hurricane Milton is brutal: If you choose to stay, write your name on your arm so we can identify your body.

Florida Attorney-General Ashley Moody was not mincing words when she urged people to get out of the path of what has been billed as a once-in-a-century storm while they still can.

Her message to those who choose not to abide by the evacuation order?

“You probably need to write your name in permanent marker on your arm so that people know who you are when they get to you afterwards,” NPR quoted her saying.

Three million people have been ordered to evacuate from Florida’s west coast as the hurricane and its 230 km/h winds bear down.

Milton weakened slightly to a category four hurricane Tuesday local time but remained a ferocious storm that could land a direct hit on the populous Tampa Bay region, forecasters warned.

It is expected to bring towering storm surges and turn debris from Hurricane Helene’s devastation 12 days ago into projectiles.

Tampa mayor Jane Castor also predicted a grim outcome if people chose to stay behind, saying they “are going to die”.

“You do not have to get on the interstate and go far away,” Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said at a Tuesday morning news briefing, assuring residents there would be enough gas to fuel their cars for the trip.

“You can evacuate tens of miles; you do not have to evacuate hundreds of miles away. You do have options.”

Major theme parks Walt Disney World and Universal remained open Tuesday ahead of Hurricane Milton‘s expected hit.

Disney said it was operating under normal conditions and planned, for now, only to close its campgrounds and rental cabins in wooded areas.

Both theme parks said they would continue monitoring the weather and adjust accordingly.

Meanwhile, sheriff’s deputies have been using loudspeakers to urge anyone left to escape as soon as possible.

But the message still isn’t getting through to some.

In Riverview, several drivers waiting in a long line for fuel on Tuesday morning said they had no plans to evacuate.

“I think we’ll just hang, you know? tough it out,” said Martin Oakes, of Apollo Beach.

“We got shutters up; the house is all ready. So this is sort of the last piece of the puzzle.”

Ralph Douglas, of Ruskin, said he, too, will stay put, in part because he worries he would run out of gas trying to return after the storm or get blocked by debris.

— with AP