Ahead of 'Category 5' Hurricane Milton's landfall in Tampa, shelters are opening up throughout southwest Florida. Presently, Hurricane Milton is located around 300 miles (485 km) southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC).
...#MILTON REMAINS A CATASTROPHIC CATEGORY 5 HURRICANE...
— National Hurricane Center (@NWSNHC) October 9, 2024
...FORECAST TO MAKE LANDFALL ON THE FLORIDA GULF COAST LATE TONIGHT AS A DANGEROUS MAJOR HURRICANE...
Follow https://t.co/dv1LkCViaN for the latest advisories. pic.twitter.com/WwlbUEHCyO
Residents have less than 24 hours to evacuate as the "catastrophic" Category 5 storm is predicted to hit Florida's Tampa area tonight (local time), packing ferocious winds of up to 165mph (270km/h).
More than 1 million people in coastal areas of Florida have been given evacuation orders as it could be the worst storm to hit the region in about a century. The authorities also underlined that citizens opting to go to a shelter need to bring supplies including sleeping bags, toiletries, snacks, extra clothes and the like for each family member.
Here are some of the shelters that have been opened in coastal Florida as Hurricane Milton's landfall gets closer:
Lee County:
Island Coast High School:
2125 DeNavarra Pkwy, Cape Coral
Estero Recreation Center:
9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd, Estero
Dunbar High School:
30 Edison Ave, Fort Myers
Hertz Arena:
11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero
Gateway Highschool:
13820 Griffin Dr., Fort Myers
Oak Hammock Middle School:
5321 Tice St., Fort Myers
Tortuga Elementary:
1711 Gunnery Rd. N
Treeline Elementary:
10900 Treeline Ave.
Varsity Lakes Middle School:
801 Gunnery Rd N
Tortuga Preserve Elementary Schools:
1711 Gunnery Road N., Lehigh Acres
Harns Marsh Elementary:
1800 Unice Ave
Harns Marsh Middle:
1820 Unice Ave
East Lee County High School:
715 Thomas Sherwin Ave
Alico Arena:
12181 FGCU Lake Parkway East, Fort Myers
Charlotte County:
Kingsway Elementary School:
23300 Quasar Blvd., Port Charlotte
Harold Avenue Recreation Center:
23400 Harold Ave. Port Charlotte
All Charlotte County Shelters are pet-friendly.
Babcock Ranch School Field House:
43281 Cypress Parkway
Harold Avenue Recreation Center:
23400 Harold Ave., Port Charlotte
Kingsway Elementary School:
23300 Quasar Blvd., Port Charlotte
DeSoto County:
Special needs shelter:
- South Florida State College - 2251 NE Turner Ave #2700, Arcadia
General population shelter:
- DeSoto County Middle School - 420 E Gibson St, Arcadia
Collier County:
- Gulf Coast H.S. 7878 Shark Way
- Immokalee H.S. 701 Immokalee Drive
- Golden Gate H.S. 2925 Titan Way
- Corkscrew M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 1165 Oil Well Road
- Cypress Palm M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 4255 18th Ave N.E.
- Golden Gate M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 2701 48th Terrace S.W.
- Immokalee M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 401 9th Street
- Oakridge M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 14975 Collier Blvd
- Palmetto Ridge H.S. - Registered Special Needs Clients and their caregiver. (1655 Victory Lane.)
(Source: NBC Network)