Hurricane Milton updates: 16 dead across Florida in storm's aftermath

The city of Tampa is home to about 500,000 people, and about 200,000 people tried to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton, Tampa Police Chief Lee Bercaw told ABC News Live.

"This the largest evacuation that we have done in the 53 years that I've been alive in Tampa, Florida. And this is definitely the storm of the century," he said.

Bercaw said on Wednesday he met an elderly woman who didn't want to evacuate.

"She had actually inflated a flotation device and planned on floating in her home. And we were able to, fortunately, evacuate her," Bercaw said. "But there's probably more of her out there. And that's what our officers were doing all this morning, is going out to our most vulnerable communities and helping them to evacuate."

"We’re almost at that point with the winds speeding up where we were not going to be able to respond anymore," he said. "I can't, in good conscience, send my police officers out to assess people once it gets too dangerous, because after the storm, we need to be ready to go for our rescue and recovery efforts."

At least 15 tornadoes have been reported on Wednesday, mostly in South Florida.

Several tornado warnings are ongoing across the eastern Florida peninsula, from west of West Palm Beach to just southeast of Orlando.

As of Wednesday afternoon, 24% of Florida gas stations were without fuel, according to GasBuddy.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said Wednesday that there’s no fuel shortage but he acknowledged "demand is high and some gas stations have run out."

The Florida Highway Patrol has been escorting fuel tankers to ensure continued supply, especially to ports like Tampa Bay and Manatee, which may face disruptions, he said.

"We've dispatched 1.6 million gallons of diesel and 1.1 million gallons of gasoline," he said.

President Joe Biden is urging Floridians to take this "storm of the century" seriously.

For those in the Tampa area, Vice President Kamala Harris added, "This is a storm that is expected to be of historic proportion. … It's going to be more dangerous, more deadly and more catastrophic. So please listen to your local officials."

"If you are told to evacuate, please evacuate immediately. Do not wait until it is too late," she said during a briefing on Wednesday.

Biden called out former President Donald Trump by name for leading the "onslaught of lies" and misinformation about the administration’s response to Hurricane Helene.

He criticized the "reckless, irresponsible, and relentless promotion of disinformation" that’s been spreading since Helene struck the Southeast, adding that it’s "undermining confidence" of rescue and recovery teams and "harmful" to those who "need help the most."

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Biden, Harris give update on Hurricane MiltonLandfall for Hurricane Milton is expected late Wednesday night as a Category 3 hurricane.

ABCNews.com

-ABC News’ Justin Ryan Gomez