Florida couple evacuates state, treks north to avoid Hurricane Milton effects

FLORENCE, S.C. (WBTW) — A family from North Port, Florida, evacuated the Sunshine State on Monday to try and avoid the damage from Hurricane Milton.

Living through a hurricane that damaged their home, Laurie and Karl Fredrick left late Monday night to avoid any safety concerns and possible traffic that could come from those evacuating Florida. They said they’re blessed their home and family are safe.

Laurie called it “devastating” to see all the damage from Milton the past 24 hours back in her home state. She said they left their home to stay at her sister’s place in Savannah, Georgia, as soon as they heard Milton was heading their way.

Laurie said they’re heartbroken to hear their friends down the road lost their entire roof to Milton and had to have it removed by heavy-duty equipment out of the road. That’s something similar to what Karl said they saw during Helene.

“There were dressers and mattresses and all kinds of stuff along the curb, and trees and tree limbs and everything from Hurricane Helene,” he said. “So, that was a mess before this season started. We didn’t want to go back to it if we didn’t have to . . . we’ve had enough.”

Although the situation is out of their control, the Fredricks said they’re doing everything they can to stay optimistic and hold on to the things that aren’t replaceable.

“Just important papers, very important papers. My jewelry, our wedding album, things that can’t be replaced,” Laurie said. “Stuff for the cars and some of the important papers from home, we still got it with us. We’ll take it back in a couple of weeks. Traveled back and forth to give it a little tour around the country. I just want to thank the good Lord for keeping us . . . we were very, very lucky this time.”

The couple says they plan to go up north until the end of October before heading back home to Florida.

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Gabby Jonas joined the News13 team as a multimedia journalist in April 2024. She is from Columbus, Ohio, and graduated from Kent State University in May 2023. Follow Gabby on X, formerly Twitter , Facebook or Instagram , and read more of her work here .

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