In what could be Hurricane Milton’s ground zero, Sarasota residents fear storm’s wrath

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Hours before Hurricane Milton was set to make landfall, thousands had already fled Sarasota, the Gulf Coast county that could be at or near ground zero for the storm’s furious march across Florida.

This county of some half-million people, known for beautiful sunsets, the performing arts and white sand beaches dotted with affluence, was a lonely, wet mess Wednesday, the colors all reduced to gray scale as Milton’s outer bands kicked up the surf and dumped buckets of rain. In the hours before landfall on Wednesday, some of the few who remained decided to get out.

“I’m nervous about this one,” said Traivon Storey, as he looked over at his 5-year-old daughter Mirakle Storey. They sat at a long table in the cafeteria at Brookside Middle School, an evacuation shelter in Sarasota County that was buzzing at lunchtime. Little Mirakle gave a thumbs up to the menu— classic school lunch pizza with cheese and sausage, tomato soup, apple slices and chocolate milk.

As she spooned some soup into her mouth, her mother, Seniqwa Storey, talked about how two weeks ago, an alligator was swimming down their street.

When Hurricane Helene hit, water from a nearby retention pond rose and spilled into the road, bringing critters with it. Besides the rising water, two trees loom over their Sarasota Springs home, enough of a threat to bring the family to the shelter.

Folks from across the Sarasota area scampered into the cafeteria as the rain grew heavier. Milton’s outer bands, a taste of the mean storm that was expected to roll over the area overnight. Another man talked about how just one hour of heavy rain can flood their home near the Fruitville neighborhood as they stood in the lunch line.

“More people are more afraid this time,” said Wesley Kingsman, comparing the days leading up to Milton’s landfall to the feeling before previous storms.

The Kingsman family, with their toddler Christina in tow, arrived at the shelter Monday. Others were just arriving Wednesday midday, just as the weather worsened.

“We worried the trees could come down on our home and on us,” said Darlene, who preferred to only give her first name. Her and her husband Roger evacuated their home near the Celery Fields, registered at the Brookside Shelter around noon and set down their things — sleeping bags, roll up mattresses, power banks, snacks and water. The advice from Local ABC7 meteorologist Bob Harrigan motivated them to come.

They brought some creature comforts.

“I got into the Halloween candy early,” Darlene said. “Peanut M&Ms. I’m sorry to the trick-or-treaters who won’t get it.”

After the lunchtime rush, Arthur Klein, 84, walked in with his wife Judith Deangelo, 79, just as a nasty squall started to flood the parking lot.

Peering out of a brown pet carrier was their white Persian cat Ferdinand.

“He’s not happy,” Judith said. “He thought we were going to the vet.”

Further east, just about a half-mile inland from the Gulf that was swelling menacingly with each hour, an array of rattan seats and wooden chairs sat in front of Isabel and Javier Dubrocq’s home Wednesday morning. They decided to go to a relative’s home five miles inland after seeing on the news that Milton is expected to make landfall as a Category 4.

“We’re leaving in a couple of hours,” said Isabel Dubrocq, a local dance teacher. Joining them are Javier’s 85-year-old mother and their dog Taco Bella, Taquito for short.

“Two weeks ago, Helene came and this city was floating,” said Javier, as he and his wife boarded up a window. “This street didn’t flood though.”

Regardless, they decided to not risk it with Milton.

“That last thing I’m thinking about is what this house will look like,” said Javier, an artist. “I’m thinking about our safety.”

Over his shoulder, a polystyrene slab and lime green seat cushions were jammed between a glass window and several wooden boards screwed into to the frame.

He held a power drill in his right hand as Isabel hoisted an umbrella over his head. As he stepped toward another window, his T-shirt commemorating an exhibit by artist M.C Escher came into clear view — a close-up image of an eye.

A hurricane in a theme park

Further inland, on International Drive in Orlando, the famous Orlando Eye Ferris wheel sat idle. Still, there were still many people walking around in rain gear looking for something to do before they had to shelter in for the night ahead of Milton’s arrival.

For Rory McCullough, who is in Orlando on vacation from Drogheda, Ireland, with his partner and their three children, that meant going for a run.

“In Ireland, we get this all the time,” he said, meaning the rain. “The only difference between running here and running in Ireland is, you can run here for in the rain, and it’s warm. If you run in the rain in Ireland, it’s bitter cold.”

McCullough, 50, and his family were supposed to fly out Wednesday after arriving nine days prior.

“Now, it’s Saturday at best,” he said.

Like other hotels in the area, the Point Hotel and Suites, where McCullough is staying, filled up quickly this week with refugees from the Gulf Coast fleeing Milton. But, he said hotel staff made sure they were all comfortable.

“The crowds were coming in from the west coast of Florida and it built up in a space of 12 to 14 hours,” McCullough said. “They really looked after us.”

Felix Ortiz stood outside the Jar House restaurant nursing a pint of beer while his wife, Sally, and their three children waited inside for a table for lunch.

The family arrived in Orlando last Friday from Humboldt, Texas, right outside of Houston, for a vacation at Disney world. They got to go to the theme parks, but their planned departure to fly home Wednesday was put on hold until hopefully Saturday.

But, since their stay was scheduled to end, they had to find another hotel because staff at their original one needed the room for the influx of people from the region where Milton would make landfall.

“We’re hopping from hotel to hotel,” Ortiz said, noting he now has a room booked in a different hotel for each night before the family goes back to Texas.

In the calm before the storm, Ortiz said his children are enjoying the adventure.

“They think of it as an extended trip,” he said.

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