U.S. President Joe Biden called on Floridians in evacuation zones to leave their homes "now, now, now" on Tuesday, and the mayor of Tampa issued a stark warning that those who "choose to stay" are "going to die" from the expected impact of Hurricane Milton—but desperate residents are grappling with the fact that hotels and airlines may make evacuating impossible for many.
Florida bars companies from price gouging during an emergency like Milton, but as thousands of people began evacuating the state's western coast on Monday, accusations poured in about sky-high airline ticket prices and hotels in neighboring states that are charging exorbitant rates.
A Hampton Inn in Brunswick, Georgia was offering rooms for $617 for Wednesday night, when Milton is expected to hit, but as The Daily Mail reported, comparable rooms are available in the middle of the week in November for just $131.
Hilton hotels in Kingsland, Georgia more than doubled their rates, and a Marriott hotel that normally charges just $94 per night was offering a stay for $548 per night—or more than $700 for people who wanted to park their cars.
"I'm about to show you why it's almost impossible for anyone to evacuate, and it will piss you off," said one man in a video posted to social media. He pointed out one-way ticket prices for airlines including American and United, flying from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida to Columbus, Ohio.
The tickets ranged from $812 to $2,199 per person.
"My wife's flight was canceled for tomorrow morning at 7:00 am," he said. "The only other flights out of the entire state of Florida right now are out of Ft. Lauderdale, and they are jacking their prices up."
Pro-worker media organization More Perfect Union also cataloged cases of alleged price gouging by airlines, with flights out of Tampa—expected to face devastating storm surges this week—costing more than $1,405.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the department had taken notice of the price gouging allegations and would be "keeping a close eye on flights in and out of areas affected by Hurricane Milton to make sure airlines are not charging excessively increasing fares."
Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody activated the state's price gouging hotline (1-866-966-7226) earlier this year, but price gouging was reported during Hurricane Helene last month in Florida as well as other affected states—including ones that ban price gouging during emergencies.
Evacuees also faced difficulty filling their cars on Tuesday, with 16% of gas stations in the state and 43% of those in the Tampa area without fuel.
Milton was classified as a Category 4 hurricane as of Tuesday afternoon, with 155 mile-per-hour winds. The storm weakened somewhat from Monday, when 175 mile-per-hour winds were reported, but forecasters said it "rebounded" in intensity. Meteorologists have expressed shock this week at how quickly the storm gathered strength in the Gulf of Mexico, which they said was due to record-high temperatures in the gulf and the Atlantic Ocean.
