TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — Fearful Floridians left the Tampa Bay region Tuesday in anticipation of what could be a once-in-a-century direct hit. Hurricane Milton, as crews worked frantically to keep furniture, appliances and other waterlogged wreckage from the last big storm from turning into these deadly projectiles.

Tuesday was the last chance for millions of people in the United States Tampa metro area to prepare for deadly storm surges, ferocious winds and possible tornadoes in a place that for generations has narrowly avoided a head-on blow from a major storm.

“Today is the last day to prepare,” said Craig Fugate, a former FEMA director who previously led the state’s emergency operations department. “This brings everything.”

Governor Ron DeSantis said the state deployed more than 300 dump trucks that removed 1,300 loads of debris left behind by Hurricane Helene by Tuesday afternoon. In Clearwater Beach, Nick Szabo spent a second long day hauling away 3-foot piles of soggy mattresses, couches and drywall after being hired by a local resident eager to help clear the roads and unwilling to wait on overwhelmed people. city ​​contractors.

“All this nonsense will be rockets,” he said. “It’s like a spear coming at you.”

Residents evacuate as Milton regains his strength

After weakening slightly, Milton regained strength Tuesday afternoon, once again becoming a Category 5 storm, with winds of 165 miles per hour. It could make landfall on Wednesday evening the Tampa Bay areathat has more than inhabitants 3.3 million people. About 5.9 million people live in the 11 Florida counties under mandatory evacuation orders, according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates.

Fluctuations in the storm’s intensity are likely as Milton crosses the Gulf of Mexico, the National Hurricane Center said, but it is expected to be a dangerous storm when it reaches Florida.

Milton’s forecast trajectory also fluctuated slightly on Tuesday, meaning it could make landfall in less populated areas just south of Tampa Bay on Wednesday, according to the center.

Still, the entire region is expected to be affected by the storm.

It is difficult to predict an exact landfall location, even about a day before it is expected to make landfall. Forecasts could be off by a little more than 60 miles, the hurricane center said.

Those who ignore evacuation orders are on their own, and first responders are not expected to risk their lives to save them at the height of the storm.

“You don’t have to get on the highway and go far away,” DeSantis told a news conference, assuring residents there would be enough gas to fuel their cars for the trip. “You can evacuate tens of kilometers. You don’t have to evacuate hundreds of kilometers away.”

Milton is expected to cross central Florida, dumping as much as 16 inches of rain as it heads toward the Atlantic Ocean, according to the hurricane center. That path would largely spare others states ravaged by Helenekilling at least 230 people en route from Florida to the Carolinas.

Tampa is preparing for a possible historic storm fueled by warming waters

The arrival of successive hurricanes that quickly expanded into powerful storms comes as climate change worsens conditions that allow them to thrive in warming waters. Milton is the thirteenth storm of the Atlantic hurricane season, which began on June 1.

Most of Florida’s west coast was under a hurricane or tropical storm warning as the system spun just off Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, crept toward the coast and expelled energy the warm waters of the Gulf of Mexico. Hurricane warnings were extended to parts of the state’s east coast early Tuesday.

Tampa Bay hasn’t been directly hit by a major hurricane since 1921, and authorities fear its luck may have run out. Tampa Mayor Jane Castor issued increasingly dire warnings, noting that a 15-foot wave could engulf an entire house.

“So when you’re in it, that’s basically the coffin you’re in,” she said.

There isn’t a good recent example of how bad it could be, because even historic hurricanes like Andrew, Harvey and Katrina haven’t directly hit a major metropolitan area. They were all on the sidelines, said hurricane researcher Brian McNoldy of the University of Miami.

“It’s hard to see places coming out of this well,” McNoldy said. “If it’s not the worst case, even the next worst case is very bad.”

Fuel lines, missed flights and heavy traffic

In Riverview, south of Tampa, several drivers in a long fuel line Tuesday morning said they had no plans to evacuate.

“I think we’ll just hang in there, you know – and hang in there,” said Martin Oakes of nearby Apollo Beach. “We’ve raised the shutters. The house is completely ready. So this is kind of the last piece of the puzzle.”

Ralph Douglas, who lives in neighboring Ruskin, said he will also stay put, partly because he fears he will run out of gas if he tries to return after the storm or become blocked by debris.

“Where I am now, I don’t think I need to evacuate,” he said.

At the Tampa airport, John Fedor and his wife tried to take a taxi to a storm shelter after missing several flights to Philadelphia. They had hoped a cruise to the Caribbean would bring them closer together, but tensions rose after they spent nearly $1,000 on unscheduled transportation and hotel rooms due to travel delays. After a 2-mile walk to the airport, Fedor’s suitcase burst open and the wheels broke. They considered driving home or taking the train, but nothing worked.

“We’re a bit stranded here,” Fedor said.

President Joe Biden approved an emergency declaration for Florida, and the White House announced Tuesday that he would do so postpone a trip to Germany and Angola to keep an eye on the storm.

“This could be the worst storm to hit Florida in more than a century,” Biden told reporters. ‘God willing, it won’t be. But this is what it looks like now.”

The Federal Emergency Management Agency has nearly 900 staff in the region and has stocked two staging areas with 20 million meals and 40 million gallons of water, the White House said.

Stragglers were a problem during Helene and Ian in 2022. Many residents said they had evacuated during previous storms, but no major waves were expected to occur. But there was evidence Tuesday that people heeded warnings to leave before Milton arrived.

The Florida Highway Patrol reported heavy northbound and eastbound traffic on all roads and said state troopers were escorting fuel tankers to assist with gasoline deliveries.

About 150 miles south of Tampa, Fort Myers Beach was almost a ghost town. Ian devastated the community two years ago with a 15-foot storm surge. Fourteen people died there. By Tuesday, the nearby Callosahatchee River was already choppy and crashing hard against the seawall.

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Spencer reported from Fort Myers Beach. Associated Press writers Holly Ramer in New Hampshire, Curt Anderson and Kate Payne in Tampa, Freida Frisaro in Fort Lauderdale, Seth Borenstein in Washington and Mark Stevenson in Mexico City contributed to this report.