PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — As Hurricane Milton moves closer to land, thousands of people are evacuating from Florida, but some are staying behind.

Rayona Clemens lives in Bristol, but has a home about an hour south of Tampa. 12 News first caught up with Clemens at T.F. Green International Airport as she was heading to Florida.

Clemens traveled south to prepare her home for the storm, but more importantly, to help her elderly neighbors.

Though the neighborhood still has power, Clemens said the vast majority of stores are closed and most gas stations have run out of fuel.

She also stressed that most of her neighbors who stayed behind weren’t able to evacuate because they have nowhere else to go.

“There are quite a few of us who have stayed,” Clemens said. “People don’t understand … the elderly really don’t have a choice when they’re not well.”

“I brought [my neighbors] life jackets just in case,” she continued. “You prepare for the worst but hope for the best.”

The storm is expected to make landfall Wednesday night. Clemens said the estuaries near her home already appear to be very full.

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