Mass exodus

Florida expects a mass exodus, but DeSantis says evacuees won't need to go far

From CNN's Dakin Andone

As Florida braces for Milton, Florida emergency management officials are anticipating an exodus larger than the state has seen in seven years, when Hurricane Irma swept the state in 2017.

In that storm, evacuations were ordered for 54 of the state’s 67 counties, causing interstates to back up and some gas stations to run out of fuel as huge swaths of the state fled Irma’s path. About 6.5 million people evacuated, according to a FEMA estimate.

By contrast, just five counties so far ordered evacuations ahead of Hurricane Milton, which are collectively home to about 3.5 million people, though Gov. Ron DeSantis in a news conference Monday said he anticipated a “flurry” of orders throughout the day Monday. Evacuation orders generally apply to residents along the coast and in low-lying, flood prone areas.

DeSantis urged residents to heed those orders, stressing they did not have to go far to find refuge.

“You don’t have to evacuate hundreds of miles. If you’re in those barrier islands, if you’re in areas that are susceptible to storm surge, you go to areas that are not susceptible to that. Every county has places within them where you can go to. Maybe it’s a friend’s house, maybe it’s a hotel, maybe it’s a shelter.”