Florida Keys schools, government offices will close Wednesday
MIAMI - The Florida Keys are preparing for Hurricane Milton and its potential impacts.
On Tuesday, the county announced that schools and government offices would be closed on Wednesday.
The port in Key West and state parks were closed on Tuesday.
County emergency management officials are telling those who live on boats to seek safety before sunset.
As rain pours down over Key West, flooding is on everyone's mind, from the heavy rain expected with Milton to the coastal flooding that could result from storm surge.
Rhonda Rinald is not taking any chances. She's filling up sandbags, taking advantage of the free sand offered by the City of Key West to its residents.
"How concerned are you about this?" CBS News Miami asked her. "Well, it's more the surge than anything else. This thing is like a bullet. It's moving really fast," she said.
At Rhonda's home, she placed the sandbags by her back door, hoping to be ready if the water starts to rise.
"We're high enough up that most of the time I don't need them, but if we get a little bit of a surge, this will slow it down from getting into the house," she explained.
Meanwhile, county officials are urging residents to pay close attention to storm surge forecasts.
"We're talking one to three feet. But it's also going to hit here around high tide. So, it'll go through a high tide at that time, which makes it much worse," said Monroe County Commissioner Craig Cates.