Major infrastructure upgrades meant to protect Florida’s Tampa Bay area from flooding are months away from completion, as the vulnerable region braces for what could be the worst hurricane in more than a century, officials said. Hurricane Milton is expected to strike the Tampa area overnight Wednesday and into Thursday morning with life-threatening storm surge of up to 15 feet, said Austen Flannery, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Tampa office. Since then, the region’s population has grown from roughly 400,000 people to 3.8 million, and the number of buildings has either tripled or quadrupled, according to the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council. The National Weather Service said Tuesday was the last full day for Florida residents to do so. “This is playing out to be one of our worst case scenarios for our area,” said Wren Krahl, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council's executive director.

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