Hurricane Milton is closing in on Florida's West Coast.

That's where we're starting the seven from the Washington Post.

I'm Hannah Jewel.

It's Wednesday, October 9th.

Let's get you caught up with today's seven stories. It's Wednesday, October 9th.

Let's get you caught up with today's 7 stories.

Milton is set to make landfall tonight or early tomorrow. It poses a dire threat to a densely populated

part of Florida's Gulf Coast that includes Tampa, Sarasota, and Fort Myers.

The National Hurricane Center warned that coastal communities face a destructive and extremely life-threatening storm surge and devastating winds, and flash flooding could be catastrophic for both coastal and inland areas.

Yesterday Florida's Pinellas County Emergency Management Director Kathy Perkins

urged residents to evacuate.

I can't stress enough that this is not an if event.

It's a when event.

And we are into the final hours.

So some of us may have had it in the back of our minds and it's going to

turn, it's going to miss us. We're going to get hit, whether it's a direct hit or

it moves slightly. There's just no ifs or butts about it.

We're going to get hit and it's going to be hard.

Millions of residents are scrambling to flee the hurricane's path,

but many gas stations have run dry. You can find more coverage on our

site as this storm develops. Our live updates are free to read today, even if you're not a subscriber.

Number two. if you're not a subscriber.

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