Florida residents move further north as Milton makes landfall

Thousands of Florida residents were evacuated just in time as Hurricane Milton hit Siesta Key on Wednesday evening.

Many of the residents headed to North Carolina to wait out the storm, and some made Johnston County a temporary home during the historic storm.

“We saw a lot of people with a lot of luggage in the back of their cars,” a hotel manager told WRAL News. “Like they don’t know when they can come back and we absolutely don’t know.”

Several residents passed through Fayetteville Tuesday with cars full of luggage and memories as they fled the storm.

Many had difficulty getting gas when leaving.

“The gas stations were full of people,” said Joseph Bonura, an evacuee on the Florida coast. “Most of the Walmarts have been evacuated. I said, ‘If they move away, I’m going to my sister’s house in New Jersey.'”

While many said they had stuck with previous hurricanes, they didn’t want to take any chances with this one, including Connie Kauffman, who celebrated her 72nd birthday on Tuesday.

“We went through a (category) two, but three and four? We kind of give him respect,” she said.

Carol Lindquist and her daughter said they were headed to Virginia and believed anyone who weathered the storm in Florida was making a mistake.

“If there was an evacuation order, I think it’s stupid that they didn’t go,” she said. “It goes back and forth between three and five. It’s coming two or three hours earlier than expected.”

Several Florida residents who spoke to WRAL News said they could only take the items that were most important to them, and they weren’t sure what would be left if they were able to return.