"For the last few weeks, there's been a reckless, irresponsible and relentless promotion of disinformation and outright lies that are disturbing people," Biden said Wednesday. The Tampa Bay region, home to more than 3.3 million people, hasn't seen a direct hit from a major hurricane in more than a century. Milton fluctuated between categories 4 and 5 as it approached, but regardless of the distinction in wind speeds, the National Hurricane Center said, it would be a major and extremely dangerous storm when its center makes landfall late Wednesday. The normally busy interstate leading into downtown Tampa was mostly free of vehicles early Wednesday. Few cars moved on side streets. Drivers hoping to top off tanks were hard-pressed to find stations that weren't closed or boarded up. Many had plastic-wrapped their fuel pumps to keep nozzles from whipping around in hurricane-force winds. Read more: https://www.9news.com/article/weather/hurricane/hurricane-milton-florida/507-5693e7fd-50a9-4593-9ca3-d9a3e1be7848 Video: CNN More local videos here: https://bit.ly/2Pa0d1l Subscribe to NEXT: http://bit.ly/2eP1GwI Stay connected: 9NEWS Website: http://www.9news.com/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ilike9news Twitter: https://twitter.com/9NEWS Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/9newsdenver/ Download the 9NEWS App: https://www.9news.com/appredirect/ Sign up for the 9NEWSLETTER: https://www.9news.com/email 9NEWS (KUSA) is located in Denver, Colorado.