Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, a Democrat, issued an extremely blunt warning to residents who refuse to leave evacuation zones before Hurricane Milton makes landfall. “What would you say to people tonight who are saying, you know what: ‘I’m going to ride this out.’ I’ve ridden others out.’ What would you say to people who aren’t heeding those evacuation orders?” CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins asked. “You may have done that in others but there’s never been one like this,” Castor responded. “This is literally catastrophic,” she continued. “I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die,” she added. WATCH: Tampa Mayor Jane Castor: “I can say this without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you are going to die.” pic.twitter.com/CP0VmK3TUC — Kaitlan Collins (@kaitlancollins) October 8, 2024 WFLA reports: She went on to explain that she’s never given that warning before but given the unprecedented circumstances of Milton and the threat of a direct hit to the Tampa Bay area, the warning could save residents’ lives who are on the fence about staying or leaving. Helene roared ashore as a Category 4 hurricane in the Big Bend region on Sept. 26. The hurricane brought catastrophic damage and left hundreds dead from the system’s strong wind, powerful rain, and storm surge. The hurricane caused more than 200 deaths across several states, including 25 in Florida and at least 14 in the Tampa Bay area. Multiple Florida counties have issued various mandatory evacuation orders. WATCH: The Mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor just gave a dire & serious Warning. “If you choose to stay…you are going to die. Helene was a wake up call. This is literally catastrophic. I can say without any dramatization whatsoever if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas you… pic.twitter.com/WxpNn4ekxY — David lester Straight (@lesterstra) October 8, 2024 Per FOX 13 Tampa Bay: Citrus County A mandatory evacuation is in effect for all of Zone A, along with anyone living in campers, tents, mobile homes, manufactured homes, or any structure not capable of withstanding sustained winds of up to 110 mph. Hernando County Mandatory Evacuations have been issued for all areas west of US 19, which includes evacuation zones A, B, and C. All residents living in coastal and low-lying areas, as well as manufactured homes county wide, are included. Hillsborough County Hillsborough County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for Evacuation Zones A and B, and for all mobile homes and manufactured housing throughout the County starting at 2:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 7. Manatee County Evacuations of zones A, B and C – along with all mobile/manufactured homes and RVs – begin at 2 p.m. Monday. Anna Maria Island The City of Anna Maria says a mandatory evacuation of the island will be ordered at 12 p.m. tomorrow. City Hall is open on Sunday until 4 p.m. for re-entry tags. Pasco County Pasco County is under an order of local state emergency. Mandatory evacuations for zones A, B, C and residents in mobile homes, low-lying areas and flood prone are in effect, according to officials. Residents who are registered with Pasco as a Special Needs Resident, and everyone who would be vulnerable in the event of a power loss are under a voluntary evacuation. Pinellas County Pinellas County has issued a mandatory evacuation order for residents in Zones A, B, and C and all mobile homes county-wide. Sarasota County A mandatory evacuation has been ordered for Levels A, B, and C, along with all mobile or manufactured homes and people living on boats. Florida interstates have backed up with severe traffic amid the massive evacuation. Tampa mayor Jane Castor warns residents they will 'DIE' if they don't evacuate as Hurricane Milton is expected to hit Florida on Wednesday. pic.twitter.com/nPnwpjRHOx — My Mixtapez (@mymixtapez) October 8, 2024 NEW: Massive evacuation happening in Florida due to Hurricane Milton. This is I-75 in Tampa. pic.twitter.com/wNLse6KJke — Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) October 8, 2024 From the New York Post: Milton is already the second-strongest Gulf hurricane in recorded history — and experts believe it’ll only grow stronger as it approaches Florida. The storm’s winds are already a stunning 180 mph with heavy downpours also expected. “This is something that I’ve never seen in my life and I can tell you anyone born and raised in the Tampa Bay area has never seen anything like this before,” she stressed. “People need to get out.” “If we have this predicted storm surge, this is not survivable,” she reiterated. A long line of cars was already on the road Monday night and shelves in supermarkets across the area were barren from panic buying.

Hospitals nationwide face significant shortages of intravenous (IV) fluids after Hurricane Helene’s destruction. The powerful storm damaged a Baxter International manufacturing plant, the country’s top supplier of hospital IV fluids and peritoneal dialysis solutions. The North Cove, North Carolina-based facility has temporarily shut down production. “Our North Cove facility in North Carolina remains closed for production due to the significant impact from Hurricane Helene. We are working around the clock to advance the recovery process,” Baxter International wrote. Our North Cove facility in North Carolina remains closed for production due to the significant impact from Hurricane Helene. We are working around the clock to advance the recovery process. More here: https://t.co/8VHT6KvmbW #NorthCoveStrong pic.twitter.com/ZLj2heZ3pm — Baxter International (@baxter_intl) October 3, 2024 Fierce Healthcare reports: The company said Thursday that the plant was “significantly impacted by the rain and storm surge from Hurricane Helene.” While progress is already being made after the storm, which resulted in water “permeating” Baxter’s plant, the company cautioned Thursday that it does not yet have a timeline for when operations at the North Cove site will be back online, Fierce Pharma reported. In addition to the flooding at the site, which is the largest in Baxter’s global manufacturing network, bridges leading to the site were damaged in the hurricane, hampering transportation of remediation equipment going into the facility and some finished products unaffected by the storm that Baxter is seeking to get out to customers and patients, according to Fierce Pharma. The plant in question primarily manufactures intravenous (IV) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) solutions and is the largest producer of those critical drugs in the U.S. The North Cove facility, which employs about 2,500 workers, manufactures 60% of the country’s supply of IV solutions and produces 1.5 million bags per day. Baxter has seven manufacturing sites within North America and 13 plants globally. We continue to make steady progress in restoring our North Cove facility, which was impacted by Hurricane Helene. Latest here: https://t.co/iDDp1EQDVm #NorthCoveStrong pic.twitter.com/mGfXVsMOgw — Baxter International (@baxter_intl) October 7, 2024 Baxter International, the largest manufacturer of certain intravenous (IV) solutions in the United States, shut down its North Carolina plant after being impacted by Hurricane Helene, disrupting critical supply to hospitals. https://t.co/3NIzMSoMD8 — Epoch Health (@EpochHealth1) October 7, 2024 Per USA TODAY: Hospitals are urging the White House to help shore up supplies of IV bags after a North Carolina factory closed because of flood damage wrought by Hurricane Helene. Several hospitals have implemented conservation plans and warned the public of potential disruptions since Baxter International temporarily closed a manufacturing site in Marion, North Carolina, about 35 miles east of Asheville. The Marion factory supplied 60% of the nation’s IV fluids to health facilities. The factory also ships peritoneal dialysis solutions to dialysis centers. On Monday, Rick Pollack, CEO of the American Hospital Association, urged President Joe Biden’s administration to take immediate steps to address the “substantial shortages of these lifesaving and life-supporting products.” “Patients across America are already feeling this impact, which will only deepen in the coming days and weeks unless much more is done to alleviate the situation and minimize the impact on patient care,” Pollack said in a letter Monday to Biden. The AHA, which represents nearly 5,000 hospitals and health care organizations, wants the Food and Drug Administration to declare a shortage of IV solutions and allow hospitals and health systems to prepare sterile IV solutions in their own pharmacies. “In follow-up to the communication issued on September 29, 2024 regarding Baxter’s North Cove, NC facility and the disruption of site operations as a result of Hurricane Helene, below is information from Baxter’s Medical Affairs team regarding immediate product management and conservation actions,” Baxter International wrote. “Healthcare practitioners should use their professional judgment in evaluating the information in this document and assessing the needs and resources of their individual organizations,” it added. Baxter International provided a full list of the impacted products.

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