Grim pleas to residents facing Hurricane Milton
"If you choose to stay... you're going to die."
That's the blunt message to millions of people living in Florida's Tampa area which is in the path of incoming Hurricane Milton, feared to be one of the most destructive hurricanes the state has ever seen.
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor didn't mince her words as the eye of the storm edged closer to the coastline, with maximum sustained winds of 270km/h.
President Joe Biden, who postponed an overseas trip to supervise the storm response, echoed Castor's sentiments. He urged those under evacuation orders to leave immediately, saying it was a matter of life and death.
More than a dozen coastal counties issued mandatory evacuation orders. Mobile homes, nursing homes and assisted living facilities also faced mandatory evacuation. "I beg you, I implore you, to evacuate," emergency management director Kevin Guthrie said.
For all the latest on Hurricane Milton, click here.