Loved ones in Philadelphia hope to stay in touch with families living in Florida: "It's just an eerie feeling"
As time ticks towards Hurricane Milton making landfall, families living in Florida are hunkering down while loved ones back in Philadelphia are hoping to stay in touch as the storm moves through.
"It's just an eerie feeling sort of waiting for something to happen, and I don't think I've ever felt this before," Melissa Miller said.
Waiting is all Miller can do in Philadelphia as she tries to stay in touch with her loved ones in Florida.
"It's just really scary thinking of what will happen to my hometown after this. Not only to the people, but to the businesses, to people's homes," Miller said.
Her hometown is Sarasota. Miller shared a video that shows flooding from Tropical Storm Debby in her family's neighborhood this summer.
For Hurricane Milton, Miller's mom evacuated while other family members and friends stayed to ride out the storm in their homes or shelters.
"It seems like everybody's prepared, but I just think the magnitude of this storm, it's really unpredictable. What is preparedness in this sense?" Miller said.
Down in Florida, Jesse Shemesh and Turquoise Brennan are waiting to see what happens with the storm. They live in South St. Pete near Gulfport.
"It's very quiet, it's, you know, extremely quiet and, kind of like, just like a weird eeriness in the air," Shemesh said.
Their next-door neighbors, Leonardo and Olivia Suncar, added the neighborhood leans on the community during times like this. All four are Florida transplants, originally from the Philadelphia area.
"Whatever they need. You know we're here," Leonardo Suncar said.
Olivia Suncar added, "We're not in an evacuation zone. So we're blessed in that sense. So we just prepare."
From frozen water bottles to keep things cold in the fridge to generators to bathtubs filled with water, both households said they are as prepared as they can be. Now, they just wait for what's to come.
"We pray and just rely on God that everything's gonna be OK," Olivia Suncar said.
Evacuating via PHL
Julie Turner, a yoga instructor, and her husband caught the last flight out of Sarasota — bound for Philadelphia, their only option.
"We were the last two seats on the plane that we were able to purchase tickets to get out. Tickets were like $800 to $1000," she said.
From Philadelphia, the couple drove to Maryland to stay with family.
Turner said they didn't evacuate during Hurricane Helene, even though that Category 4 storm swept through their neighborhood on Siesta Key, destroying several homes.
"It looked like a warzone. There was furniture all over the sidewalks. One of the sights I kept seeing was mattresses everywhere. You know when you see mattresses that was someone's living space," Turner said.
Turner fears Milton's impact will be more severe, which is why the couple followed officials' warnings to leave Florida. Before leaving, they did their best to protect their home for this historic storm.
"I've been in the area for 30 years," Turner said. "Climate change is real, and I'm not just the only Floridian who says that."