OKLAHOMA CITY ( KFOR ) — Another dangerous hurricane will hit this week as Floridians are bracing for impact. Oklahoma is lending a helping hand to people there to try and get ahead of what could be catastrophic to the state.
Support teams are heading that way including first responders from the Oklahoma Highway Patrol, Oklahoma City Fire , and Norman Police .
WEATHER: Live Wobble Tracker: Map shows real-time movements of Hurricane Milton In addition to those teams, another task force just left for Florida as well, with two canine teams and swift water rescue teams.
The Department of Emergency Management said they’ve had teams in hard-hit areas from Hurricane Helene, but are sending even more crews ahead of Hurricane Milton.
“We have deployed three swift water teams in advance of the storm and then an outstanding incident management team from the state level,” said Annie Vest, the Director of the Oklahoma Department of Emergency Management.
Many in Florida are choosing to stay, rather than evacuate.
Among them, are two former Oklahomans.
LOCAL NEWS: Crews throughout the metro gear up to assist with hurricane Milton’s arrival “It’s pretty difficult to imagine that, you know, literally two weeks later, we’re dealing with something that’s predicted to even be worse than Helene,” said Ryan Lamjid, a former Oklahoman living in Florida.
As time is running out, preparations are still going on.
“It’s too late. There is no gas. It is taking people an hour to go. You know, what should be 15 minutes. There is no way out,” said JaNiece Cranmer, also a former Oklahoman living in Florida.
The choice is hard for families.
They will either stay and ride out the storm or leave and hope for the best.
“To be frank, if you leave, you don’t know how long it’s going to take before you get back in,” said Cranmer.
NEWS: Is a Category 6 hurricane possible? What research says The community in Florida is still picking up the pieces just two weeks after Hurricane Helene, while also bracing for the impact of Hurricane Milton.
“Our coastlines, our beaches, I mean, they’re.. they’re destroyed right now. So there’s been a huge cleanup effort going on,” said Lamjid.
In addition to search and rescue teams from metro first responders, the Oklahoma National Guard is also sending crews to Florida for help as Hurricane Milton is expected to hit late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
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