Hurricane Milton: List of shelters in southwest Florida as Tampa braces for Category 5 storm

Ahead of 'Category 5' Hurricane Milton's landfall in Tampa, shelters are opening up throughout southwest Florida. Presently, Hurricane Milton is located around 300 miles (485 km) southwest of Tampa, according to the National Hurricane Center (NHC). 

Residents have less than 24 hours to evacuate as the "catastrophic" Category 5 storm is predicted to hit Florida's Tampa area tonight (local time), packing ferocious winds of up to 165mph (270km/h). 

More than 1 million people in coastal areas of Florida have been given evacuation orders as it could be the worst storm to hit the region in about a century. The authorities also underlined that citizens opting to go to a shelter need to bring supplies including sleeping bags, toiletries, snacks, extra clothes and the like for each family member.

ALSO READ | Category 5 Hurricane Milton landfall in Tampa: Florida county-wise windspeed, rain alert and other warnings

Here are some of the shelters that have been opened in coastal Florida as Hurricane Milton's landfall gets closer:

Lee County:

Island Coast High School:

2125 DeNavarra Pkwy, Cape Coral

Estero Recreation Center:

9200 Corkscrew Palms Blvd, Estero

Dunbar High School:

30 Edison Ave, Fort Myers

Hertz Arena:

11000 Everblades Parkway, Estero

Gateway Highschool:

13820 Griffin Dr., Fort Myers

Oak Hammock Middle School:

5321 Tice St., Fort Myers

Tortuga Elementary:

1711 Gunnery Rd. N

Treeline Elementary:

10900 Treeline Ave.

Varsity Lakes Middle School:

801 Gunnery Rd N

Tortuga Preserve Elementary Schools:

1711 Gunnery Road N., Lehigh Acres

Harns Marsh Elementary:

1800 Unice Ave

Harns Marsh Middle:

1820 Unice Ave

East Lee County High School:

715 Thomas Sherwin Ave

Alico Arena:

12181 FGCU Lake Parkway East, Fort Myers

Charlotte County:

Kingsway Elementary School:

23300 Quasar Blvd., Port Charlotte

Harold Avenue Recreation Center:

23400 Harold Ave. Port Charlotte

All Charlotte County Shelters are pet-friendly.

Babcock Ranch School Field House:

43281 Cypress Parkway

Harold Avenue Recreation Center:

23400 Harold Ave., Port Charlotte

Kingsway Elementary School:

23300 Quasar Blvd., Port Charlotte

DeSoto County:

Special needs shelter:

• South Florida State College - 2251 NE Turner Ave #2700, Arcadia

General population shelter:

• DeSoto County Middle School - 420 E Gibson St, Arcadia

Collier County:

• Gulf Coast H.S. 7878 Shark Way
• Immokalee H.S. 701 Immokalee Drive
• Golden Gate H.S. 2925 Titan Way
• Corkscrew M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 1165 Oil Well Road
• Cypress Palm M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 4255 18th Ave N.E.
• Golden Gate M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 2701 48th Terrace S.W.
• Immokalee M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 401 9th Street
• Oakridge M.S. (Pet-Friendly) 14975 Collier Blvd
• Palmetto Ridge H.S. - Registered Special Needs Clients and their caregiver. (1655 Victory Lane.)

(Source: NBC Network)