Hurricane Milton leaves Central Illinois natives stuck in Florida

CENTRAL ILLINOIS (WCIA) – A trio of Central Illinois residents are stuck in Florida due to Hurricane Milton. The group took an annual trip to Valrico, Florida last week – that’s about 15 miles from Tampa.

Their trip has turned into frantic efforts to board up a friend’s house and stockpile food.

Joseph Myhre, his wife Mercedes and his brother Christian landed in Florida last week. They booked flights to leave once they learned of the storm. Those were canceled on Monday.

“If everyone from Florida is freaking out about it, it’s probably a big deal,” Christian said.

Since then, they have been boarding up a friend’s house with wood and concrete reinforcements and bracing for what’s to come.

“Just boarded [the house] up as much as we can, and realistically that’s the only thing we can do,” Joseph said.

The three said they are worried but hopeful for what’s to come. They are grateful for the support they’ve gotten from people in Illinois.

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