Florida homeowners fleeing unprecedented Hurricane Milton say they are “all doomed” and fear they will have no homes to return to.
Terrified Floridians are bracing for 175 mph winds as the Category 5 storm moves through the Gulf of Mexico and toward Tampa Bay.
Many are still recovering from evacuations caused by Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago, which claimed at least 230 lives and leveled thousands of homes.
‘This time I’ll get out quickly. But when I go back, I know there will be nothing to go back to,’ Joe Barness, who had to be rescued from his oceanfront home by a sheriff’s department airboat during Hurricane Helene, told DailyMail.com.
‘Helene was a warning to get out. The storm surge was devastating. But this, the flooding, is going to be worse beyond anyone’s imagination.
‘The winds are going to push that salt water like never before. All the houses in this neighborhood are doomed to failure.
Damaged homes and debris litter the street in the Dana Shores neighborhood of Tampa, Florida, October 8. There are fears of even more destruction once Hurricane Milton hits.
Some Dana Shores property owners were warned against looting in the wake of Helene. ‘Our weapons are dry, dry, dry’ remains painted in large letters on the garage door of a store
Floridians who have been asked to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton’s impact have revealed their fears of having nothing to return to. Pictured: Tampa resident Wally Sawyer outside his garage.
Part-time real estate agent Barness, 65, was hurriedly gathering his belongings before evacuating his $800,000 single-story home in the normally idyllic area of Dana Shores, which directly abuts the north side of the Bay. Tampa. It is dotted with small canals where owners can park their boats in the back.
Sawyer was sandbagging the structure ahead of Hurricane Milton, which is expected to cause more severe flooding.
Street after street in the established neighborhood, with a mix of older, modest homes and modern gentrified two-story homes, are already gruesome witnesses to the power of a hurricane.
Nearly every home was flooded by a storm surge that reached 9 feet at most with Helene.
Piles of furniture, rugs, beloved photographs, tables, beds – the contents of people’s lives – are still piled high on dozens of properties.
Some Dana Shores property owners were warned against looting in the wake of Helene.
‘Our weapons are dry, dry, dry’ remains painted in large letters on the garage door of one place.
A few doors down, an automated video system utters the words, “Hello, you are currently being recorded” if someone walks by on the street.
Many stayed thanks to Helene. Now everyone is fleeing en masse as Milton continues to approach the west coast of Florida with unprecedented intensity and, at worst, a storm water surge of a terrifying 15 feet.
Damaged homes and debris filled the streets of the Dana Shores neighborhood of Tampa, Florida
Barness’ dire prophecy came as an almost unreal atmosphere descended on Tampa on Tuesday.
As millions of people headed north to escape Milton’s path, traffic in the Bay Area, home to 2.5 million people, was noticeably calmer.
The entire area seems to be awaiting an apocalypse. Local television weather expert Denis Phillips, considered the guru of hurricane coverage, has said: “This is a beast.”
Dana Shore resident Joe Barness told DailyMail.com he feels “doomed” as he prepared to evacuate for the second time in a matter of weeks after being forced to flee Hurricane Helene.
Gas is like gold. Many stations have tape at the entrances to make it clear that they are outside.
When a gas station is stocked, huge queues form as desperate drivers rush to fill up.
Such is the value of petrol – as a means of last-minute escape or survival for what is to come – that DailyMail.com witnessed a tanker truck being escorted front and rear by black police SUVs.
On the quiet street where Barness lives with his girlfriend Vilma Wolfe, 50, more than 40 U-Haul trucks or similar trucks jammed the road yesterday as people accepted that their dreams of living there might be over for good.
“There were 20-foot vehicles and people were just piling into them what they had salvaged from Helene,” Barness added. ‘They left with all their belongings and will not return.
A boarded up and damaged home on Davis Island in Tampa, Florida, following Hurricane Helene
Dana Shore local Pauline Cuesta, 92, left her home of 53 years and fears it may be the last time she sees her.
Retired NASA deputy director of engineering Wally Sawyer tried to protect his garage with plastic sheeting.
‘They will have no reason to return. What are they going to come back to? A 15 foot storm surge will wipe out this place.
‘I’m thinking about tearing down my house and trying to rebuild it. I bought it just three years ago and put everything I had into it.
‘This is the real deal. There is a direct cone that is coming straight towards us and does not change course. I’ll say it again: we are doomed with this. I really believe it.
‘People have walled up, but what good will that do? This place is going to be a ghost town.
Barnes, an automobile enthusiast, lost vehicles in the Helene flood, including a salmon-pink 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne pickup truck he had just purchased for $30,000.
On the same street, Pauline Cuesta, 92, hugged her small dog and spoke to DailyMail.com moments before fleeing her home of 53 years, realizing it could be the last time she calls it home.
All of their furniture and most of their household goods were destroyed by Helene’s storm surge. Now he takes the essentials with him; Crucial documents, jewelry, sentimental items.
‘We stayed across Helene and the water came in at a surprising rate. We just didn’t expect that. There was nothing we could do. It was a foot tall and it ruined everything.
Her son, Indy Cuesta, warned that if the forecast is as bad as expected, his mother’s entire house could end up underwater.
But now this is going to be much worse. We will simply take all the things we need to live if we lose the house forever. The things in our lives.
Son Indy, 55, who was helping her move, predicted: “If this surge is 15 feet, the whole house could be completely underwater.” My father built it. Here we did practically everything throughout our lives.
‘This is a beautiful area, like a forgotten neighborhood, a simple treasure that many people could afford among all the other more expensive areas nearby.
But now who knows. It is what it is. It’s in God’s hands.’
Hurricanes are no respecter of wealth. On exclusive Davis Island, a short bridge away from downtown Tampa, the locals are leaving.
Here, mansions costing more than $20 million face the same terrifying prospect of destruction from rising salt water and strong winds.
Retired NASA deputy chief engineer Wally Sawyer cut a lonely figure as he did his best to cover the base of his garage with plastic sheeting and secure it with sandbags.
“I have no idea if this will do any good, but you have to try,” the 82-year-old told DailyMail.com.
Water damage caused by Hurricane Helene seen at Pauline Cuesta’s home before the arrival of Hurricane Milton
Nearly all homes were flooded by storm surges up to 9 feet high during Helene
‘We were far from Helene, but the surge brought in 3 feet of water. We’ll be looking at eight or nine if the predictions are correct with Milton.
‘We are lucky that the living area of the house is four and a half meters from the ground. But there are so many single-story houses around here. And they will be underwater if the worst happens.
‘We love this neighborhood. My heart goes out to those whose homes will be devastated. They will be underwater.
—I don’t think anyone here will stay. You can’t survive the kind of storm surge they talk about with these winds.
“We never met anything like Helene. What is about to happen is unthinkable.
