Florida residents who are evacuating before Hurricane Milton is anticipated to make landfall on Wednesday can get free Uber rides to and from emergency shelters, according to the Florida Division of Emergency Management. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis mentioned the free Uber rides at a press conference on Tuesday morning that was livestreamed on YouTube.
“Florida has also partnered with Uber for Hurricane Milton evacuation so you can get free rides to and from shelters in counties with active evacuation orders,” DeSantis said. “They did this with Hurricane Helene. They’re now doing it with Hurricane Milton. And so if you want a free ride to a shelter, you use the promo code MILTONRELIEF one word, MILTONRELIEF. So thanks for Uber for stepping up and helping Floridians when they’re in need.”
The list of available shelters is posted and updated constantly on FloridaDisaster.org. To use the promo code MILTONRELIEF, users need to open the Uber app, tap on Account at the bottom right of the screen, and then tap Wallet.
The National Hurricane Center reported Tuesday afternoon that while the hurricane had weakened from a category 5 to a 4 overnight, it has since rebounded and is approaching 5 again. Tampa Bay is expected to get a storm surge of 12-15 feet when the hurricane makes landfall on Wednesday night. The mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor, appeared on CNN late Monday to warn about just how deadly Hurricane Milton is predicted to be.
“This is literally catastrophic. And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever, if you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die,” Castor told CNN.
“Some of the predictions are saying that Pinellas County to the south of us, the entire county is going to be underwater. So this is something that I have never seen in my life,” Castor said, stressing just how historic this powerful storm could be.
Gov. DeSantis mentioned at his press conference on Tuesday that many hotel rooms in the area now offer discounted rates for people in an emergency situation, noting that Expedia and Priceline both have portals for Florida residents who are evacuating that give a special rate for emergency accommodations.
“We have properties, the Rosen properties, Red Roof Inns, Alofts, La Quinta’s, Motel 6, Best Western, Holiday Inns. They’re all on board to be able to do this and help Floridians when they’re in need. So we appreciate you doing that,” said DeSantis.
Gov. DeSantis is encouraging people who want to donate to relief efforts to give to the Florida Disaster Fund.