Keep calm and hunker down: Floridians brace for Hurricane Milton's impact

By Jaclyn Diaz,

Kira Wakeam, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán

Published October 9, 2024 at 2:03 PM CDT

A Lee County Sheriff's officer patrols the streets of Cape Coral, Fla., as heavy rain falls ahead of Hurricane Milton on Wednesday.

SARASOTA, Fla. — The skies over downtown Sarasota grew increasingly gray and ominous as Hurricane Milton drew closer to the western coast of Florida, threatening coastal communities.

Winds steadily grew stronger by early afternoon, blowing tree branches and leaves onto eerily quiet roads. There were few cars out by midmorning as almost no stores stayed open and many Floridians heeded evacuation orders and fled to hotels or shelters further inland. Through Tuesday, many residents clogged highways choosing to flee further north or south, out of the main path of Milton.

But one 90-year-old resident of Englewood, Fla., a little over 30 miles south of Sarasota, was deciding at the last minute at a gas station whether to head further inland, north or south away from Milton.

Irving LaLonde, said he has a house right by the bay. “It has been nice all this time,” he said of the weather. “And then I turned on the television this morning, and oh my God, they said, ‘Get out of Englewood.’ ” And he took off, still unsure of which direction to go.

In spite of the very real threat to their homes, belongings and livelihoods, many Floridians taking shelter in hotels or evacuation centers in Sarasota remained in good spirits amid the bad weather. They got comfortable, chatted with other evacuees, played card games, drank wine and beer and prepared to ride out the worst of the storm with friends, families and pets.

“Obviously life is more important than possessions, so you can always rebuild and recreate what you had,” said Alan Staniforth, a sailing instructor, who evacuated to the Westin Sarasota on Tuesday with his family from his Longboat Key home.

Members of Pasco County utilities set up in classrooms in a hurricane shelter at River Ridge Middle/High School in preparation for Hurricane Milton in New Port Richey, Fla., on Wednesday.

Before fleeing, the Staniforth family tried to fortify their house and put furniture and other possessions on higher ground. He told NPR he’s resigned to his belief that his home, renovated just four years ago, won’t be livable after Milton hits.

“We'll probably spend the next six to 12 months rebuilding,” he said. “It’s going to be a long road to recovery here for everybody, not just us. And I guess that's the risk you take with living down fairly close to the ocean in Florida. It's a great lifestyle, but it comes with related risk.”

With all this in mind, Staniforth kept calm like many other Floridians that NPR reporters encountered.

“I guess a lot of people are forward-thinking about what happens afterwards, and obviously we don't know what's going to happen, but you got to assume the worst and hope for the best,” Staniforth said. “But be pragmatic about it, and not freak out. Freaking out is not going to help anybody, and so that's kind of where we are right now.”

Local resources

Member stations across the NPR Network in Florida are covering the local impact of Hurricane Milton. For those that might lose power or cell service, note the frequency of your local station for your emergency radio needs.

Jaclyn Diaz and Kira Wakeam reported from Sarasota, Fla., and Sergio Martínez-Beltrán from Fort Myers, Fla.