Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida has been repurposed as a base camp for thousands of emergency responders as the state braces for Hurricane Milton to make landfall .
Video shows the field of the Tampa Bay Rays ‘ home ballpark packed with rows of empty green cots amid preparations for the powerful storm, which is poised to wreak further destruction on a region still recovering from Helene . While Milton weakened slightly Tuesday, the Category 4 storm remained extremely powerful and could double in size before slamming into west-central Florida late Wednesday .
Florida officials have been urging residents in the path of Milton to evacuate or otherwise make plans to stay safe from the life-threatening storm, which is forecasted to include damaging winds and heavy rainfall .
“Time is running out,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a briefing Tuesday. “There’s no guarantee what the weather’s going to be like starting Wednesday morning … You may have a window where it may be safe, but you may not. So use today as your day to finalize and execute the plan that is going to protect you and your family.”