As Hurricane Milton unleashes its fury on Florida, one local has described the stark reality of bracing for its impact.
Residents have been told to “get out now” as officials have labelled the storm as “extremely dangerous” slamming into the state with vicious 120mph winds and causing surges of up to 12 feet of water.
The Category 5 tempest that set millions on edge as it barreled towards Florida’s West Coast was subsequently downgraded to a Category 3 at landfall. It comes hard on the heels of the destruction left by Hurricane Helene two weeks ago.
Nearly three million properties are without electricity, countless buildings lie in ruins, and residents are trapped amid the chaos. While many people have evacuated their homes, some defiant locals chose to ride out Hurricane Milton in their homes, documenting the devastation and their battle for survival on TikTok and other social media platforms.
Among them is Daisy, a British expat who recently settled in Orlando seeking sunshine, gastronomy, Walt Disney World adventures, and more. Little did she anticipate such violent weather conditions, finding herself under a “tornado watch” just weeks after her arrival.
Daisy revealed: “I’m sure everyone’s heard, we are currently preparing for Hurricane Milton.” Despite not being in an evacuation zone, she is taking every precaution to ensure safety. “We’re not in a mandatory evacuation zone so we are going to buckle down and stay safe,” she clarified.
She has already begun preparations at her home in the Kissimmee area, describing her residential street as “a literal ghost town”. On Wednesday [October 9], Daisy visited three petrol stations before finally filling up her tank.
While her husband Tom was at work, she moved all their garden furniture indoors, noting: “All the neighbours had started boarding up their windows.”
They have a large grill in their garden, which they can use if power is lost. “Then I started to prepare some tea, and it was that this point that I felt it was the literal calm before the storm,” she added.
Daisy also shared some advice: “One of the things that we have been advised to do is running a bath just in case the pipes are contaminated and we need to flush the toilet or anything like that.”
The resident, who also owns pet cats, made sure to charge all her devices in anticipation of a power cut. She filled sandwich bags with ice and placed them in the freezer, stocked up on water bottles, replaced batteries in her torch, and stocked up on cupboard food staples.
The video sparked a flurry of comments with one person exclaiming: “So scary! We flew back home to the UK yesterday, feel very lucky.”
Another chimed in with a lighter note: “The Chocolate Digestives made me smile. Stay safe. Hope you’re ok.”
A third offered their support, saying: “You are incredibly brave, as a Brit I literally can’t comprehend what’s happening there at the moment. Be safe.”
