VP Kamala Harris says 1,000 federal personnel are headed to Florida for Hurricane Milton

"We have already sent over 1,000 federal personnel to Florida," Vice President Kamala Harris said Wednesday.

The Tampa Bay region, home to more than 3.3 million people, hasn't seen a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century. Milton fluctuated between categories 4 and 5 as it approached, but regardless of the distinction in wind speeds, the National Hurricane Center said, it would be a major and extremely dangerous storm when its center makes landfall late Wednesday.

“This is it, folks,” said Cathie Perkins, emergency management director in Pinellas County, which sits on the peninsula that forms Tampa Bay. “Those of you who were punched during Hurricane Helene, this is going to be a knockout. You need to get out, and you need to get out now.”

The famous Sunshine Skyway Bridge, which spans the mouth of Tampa Bay and whose traffic is susceptible to high winds, closed around midday. Other major bridges were to close, as well, Perkins said. Residents should not feel relief because of indications Milton's center might come ashore south of Tampa, she said.

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