Tampa has been hit with heavy rain and catastrophic winds from Hurricane Milton, NBC6’s Niko Clemmons reports.
People across the Tampa Bay area hunkered down as Hurricane Milton ripped through on Wednesday.
In Tampa, normally busy roads were practically empty as traffic signals went out, gas pumps were covered, homes were boarded up and businesses were abandoned.
HURRICANE MILTON
Despite the storm, one Kangaroo gas station in Tampa was open and there were no shortage of customers.
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“Oh I was too busy today, I was too busy today," said Ali Akbr, who was running the station. “The plan is to be open as long as possible. People need their stuff."
However, the owner and employees knew they didn't have much time.
"Our plan was to be open until 10 p.m. but it's looking bad right now so we're planning on closing in a few hours," Abkr said. “I do feel concerned but hopefully it's not as bad as it looks."
Tampa's mayor Jane Castor said storm surge was their biggest concern.
“Milton is bringing the possibility of bringing twice as much storm surge here, from 12 to 15 feet,” Castor said.
There was still plenty of debris from Hurricane Helene piled up in front of people’s homes. There’s concern it can turn destructive.
The mayor said the city's solid waste department had picked up 70% to 80% of the debris, but they ran out of time.
“We're not going to be able to get to all of it,” Castor said.
Which is concerning for people like Jake Hoffman. He lives on Davis Islands.
“The only people who are really at risk are the people who are going to get hit with the projectiles like this,” Hoffman said.
Four major bridges crossing Tampa Bay were closed, the Skyway Bridge, Howard Frankland, Westbound Gandy Bridge and Westbound Courtney Campbell. Officials will reopen them as soon as it's safe to do so.
