More than 5 million people in the US state of Florida were forced to evacuate their homes due to Hurricane Milton, which struck the United States, according to the New York Times.

The New York Times: Florida is witnessing the largest evacuation in its history due to Hurricane Milton

The newspaper indicates that this is considered the largest evacuation operation in the history of the American state, explaining that more than 5.5 million people were forced to leave their homes on the west coast of Florida, where the strength of the storm “Milton” was classified as a category five.

The state authorities called on citizens to go to shelters and not travel far, and according to the newspaper, many areas “appear deserted” because residents took evacuation orders seriously.

On October 6, Florida authorities declared a state of emergency in dozens of counties in the state as Hurricane Milton approached.

Evacuations were also announced from the state's west coast, including from the three-million-person metropolitan area of ​​Tampa, which meteorologists expect to be among the first in the United States to take the hurricane hit.