Former South Dakotans bracing for Hurricane Milton

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — Hurricane Milton, a category 4 storm, is weakening slightly but remains a ferocious system that could land a once-in-a-century direct hit on the Tampa and St. Petersburg, Florida areas.

KELOLAND News caught up with two former South Dakotans who now call that area home, but with storm surges expected to be 10-15 feet high and winds well over 100 mph, they’re hoping they’ll have a home to return to.

The biggest concerns for Floridians this time around are the towering storm surges and debris from Hurricane Helene’s devastation 12 days ago.

Former KELOLAND News anchorman Steve Hemmingsen, who lives in Englewood, has been tracking Hurricane Milton for a few days now. Despite all the warnings, Hemmingsen says he’s staying put.

“A friend of mine and I thought about evacuating, but I’ve been in one of those before on the interstate and decided I’d rather be in a cement block house than in my little car out on the interstate in a traffic jam,’ said Hemmingsen.

Long lines and empty pumps at some Florida gas stations are compounding the stress for people planning to either hunker down, like Hemmingsen, or flee like former Sioux Falls nurse Sarah Plucker, who lives in Cape Coral.

She and her boyfriend are evacuating to Miami.

“Reserving a hotel in Miami was interesting because they sell out fast as soon as they announced, we decided not to stay because mandatory evacuations doesn’t mean you’re not forced to stay, but if you need EMS for any reason at all; fire truck, ambulance, anything, you’re on your own,” Sarah Plucker said.

Plucker says she learned a lot about getting their home ready during Hurricane Ian two years ago, but she says this one feels different.

“The storm surge during Ian was very worrisome because we stayed for that and saw the water, it was like a huge river with a current going straight down the street, it was like nothing I had ever seen before, I don’t care about the wind or debris flying around that doesn’t bother me, but the water,” Plucker said. “We learned, you don’t mess with Mother Nature.”

Hemmingsen isn’t sure what to expect, but fears it won’t be good. He says the debris left over from Helene could be deadly, especially on the outerbanks by the islands.

“There’s still tons of household rubble out there from Helene if this happens out there those islands are going to be a mess that stuff is going to go flying around like missiles,” Hemmingsen said.

FEMA has established two staging bases stocked with 20 million meals and 40 million liters of water, and has nearly 900 staff members in the region.

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