Tampa Mayor Jane Castor is pulling no punches.
Two days after telling CNN’s anchor Kaitlin Collins that anyone who was in a mandatory evacuation zone and chose to stay is “going to die,” she doubled down.
Appearing on the “Today” show Wednesday morning, hours before Hurricane Milton smacked into her city, Castor again refused to mince words.
Savannah Guthrie asked the public official if her message would be as “blunt” now.
“Well, wherever that storm surge comes, if it’s 10 to 15 feet, and people are trying to ride this out in single story structures, there’s no place to go,” the 63-year-old former cop said. “And once those winds get up to hurricane speed, there’s nobody to come and get you.”
While Castor didn’t come out and say folks would actually perish, she refused to sugarcoat such a dangerous situation.
Milton continued to barrel toward Florida’s Gulf Coast, expecting to make landfall sometime Wednesday evening in what could be one of the Sunshine State’s worst storms in a century.
“The point of being blunt was to get everyone’s attention,” she said of her response to the Cat 4 monster. “This isn’t a drill.”
Most of the commenters on the “Today” post were in agreement with the straight talker.
“That’s good that she [has] been blunt. People just don’t follow instructions. This is serious … move get out … now.”
“People, please listen to the mayor. Don’t put your life at risk.”
“Well done.”
