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Mayor John Gunter had a message for residents Wednesday afternoon - shelter in place now, stay indoors and stay off the roadways.
"Hurricane Milton has already arrived, and we are already receiving strong rain and wind. One confirmed tornado touched down here in Cape Coral," he said. "Shelter in place now. The time to stay indoors has arrived. Not safe to be on the roadways. Stay off the road for your safety."
No one should be on the road when winds reach 40 mph and higher.
Gunter said residents can expect power outages, so charge devices now while they still have power. LCEC has assembled crews and it ready to address power outages.
"Be cautious of downed power lines. Treat every downed line as a live and dangerous line and report it immediately to LCEC," he said.
Gunter also reiterated that generators should be kept outside and always away from windows - not in the house, or garage due to carbon monoxide.
First responders will be prevented from responding later today as the worst impacts of Hurricane Milton are realized. The city will determine when law enforcement and fire department responders can answer calls when weather conditions improve, Gunter said, adding local hospitals may be locked down, which would prevent ambulance transports.
Once safe, the city's public works crews will deploy and begin the first push to establish a clear path for emergency crews, he said.
Gunter urged residents to stay informed. City information can be found at capecoral.gov/Milton, which he said has received significant traffic in the past 24 hours.
"We will continue to provide timely updates on that page," he said, adding that additional questions can be made by calling the city’s 311 call center, or 239-574-0425.
"We are all in this together and our city staff will continue working around the clock to prepare for the storm and coordinate any responses necessary. Make sure you and your family can continue to be safe," Gunter said.