Horrifying footage has emerged online of terrified Florida residents desperately trying to flee the path of Hurricane Milton.
A video shared to TikTok showcased lengthy queues on the roads of the Sunshine State, as thousands evacuated the area. “People are stuck on bridges during Hurricane Milton,” read the clip’s caption, posted by user Joy (@joysparkleshine).
The user added eerily: “Nobody’ getting out of Florida. It [queuing vehicles] is just as far as you can see. Just dead stopped.” The Tampa Bay area on the east coast is set to be hit first later today (October 9) and more than three million people have already vacated their homes as a result.
The monstrous category 5 hurricane, which US President Joe Biden said may be “the worst storm to hit Florida in over a century,” is likely to cause widespread destruction when it makes landfall and passes across the state towards the Atlantic Ocean.
Joy’s sad clip soon went viral, with more than 1.5 million users watching and many expressing their sorrow at the harrowing situation. One Floridian revealed their family members had taken “back roads” to escape, but even that route took twice as long as usual.
“My family is by Clearwater and they came to me in Orlando yesterday,” they said. “They busted out the old atlas and paper map and went through backroads. GPS said almost 5 hours otherwise when normally its 2.5.”
A second person detailed a similar scenario, and offered advice: “We got out yesterday. Stay off of the interstates and navigate the county roads. That’s the only way to avoid all of the traffic.”
Elsewhere, others admitted their “heartbreak” at witnessing the event unfold from afar. “This is heart-breaking to see,” one user said. “It honestly looks like a scene out of those movies about the apocalypse that were super popular like 10 years ago.”
Meanwhile a sympathetic Brit added: “I don’t know why but I have a huge sense of guilt watching all this unfold over here in the UK knowing I can’t help. I’m so sorry to everyone who’s affected by this. I’m thinking of everyone.”
In a second video, TikTok user Bentgod (@thebentgod) claimed the main route out of Tampa, the I-75 was blocked, with cars “running out of gas” amid their evacuation. He added: “People are waiting 11 hours simply to move 5 miles.
“All the gas stations are runnign out of gas, there’s only 16% of all gas stations in Florida have gas right now and essentially all evacuation routes are out of gas. News outlets are stating that there are 30 miles of stalled vehicles – they will not be moved until the hurricane is over.”
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