Hoosiers in central Florida make preparations for Hurricane Milton

With Hurricane Milton rushing towards Florida's Gulf Coast, Hoosiers living there are among the one million people asked to get of out the storm's path.

Some Hoosiers evacuated. Other decided to stay.

Shawn Heinen bought a home in Bradenton back in May. He lives in Indy, but was fixing up his new Floridian home not far from the Manatee River. This week, he spent two days buckling down the hatches ahead of Hurricane Milton.

"I taped all the doors off and put sandbags on all the door entries," said Heinen. "I picked up everything on the house on the first floor."

Once all the chores were complete, Heinen headed south to take shelter at a friend's home in Naples. Hurricane Helene did not damage Heinen's home, but he knows this time around could be a different story.

"This one looks to be a direct hit, unfortunately," Heinen said.

About 30 minutes down the road, Carmel's Morgan Ashley has lived in Sarasota for six years. Helene did not damage her apartment, but Ashley says she is not taking any chances with Milton.

"I stocked up on water," said Ashley. "Pots of water. The bathtub full."

In Sarasota, like other parts of the state, gasoline is becoming a major concern, Ashley says.

"There really hasn't been any gas since I think Monday morning," Ashley said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, Ashley's apartment was not in a mandatory evacuation zone, so she decided to stay.

"The traffic on the highway is so bad going north that I don't want to get stuck on the highway and stranded," said Ashley.

Northeast of Tampa, Suzy Smith cares for a home in Zephyrhills. The Ball State University professor flew into town over the weekend to check on her property and prepare for Hurricane Milton. Her flight home, however, was cancelled when local airports shut down.

"By then, you couldn't find a flight," Smith said.

Smith and a friend decided to drive to Atlanta late Monday to catch another flight home on Tuesday. The drive that typically takes less than 8 hours took more than 12, Smith says.

"It was tough to find a hotel room," said Smith, "because there are already people even in south Georgia that are displaced from the floods and the storm from Helene that are still having to deal with not being in their homes."

On Tuesday afternoon, Hurricane Milton intensifies, again, into a Category 5 storm.

[contetomeck]

SAVE YOUR PET DO NOT LEAVE THEM CHAINED AT YOUR HOUSES

[kagetoku]

I wish my parents would take this more seriously. We're literally in the middle of Central Florida it's 1:12 now wish us luck

[tysonrolls]

Big storms brewing hear in Australia no cyclone or hurricane's just rain and wind love for our big Brother's in America

[ProjectGridhack]

Hoping everyone evacuates safely. Our team will be bringing food and lending a hand.

[gevowavemagnet]

The snakes and alligators want their peninsula back.

[shannonricketts]

Bless Everyone in the affected areas🙏please help each other and all pets and animals to safety🙏

[vernacarty]

May God look over the people of florida and save lives.pray that as much as possible ŕeach safety quicy

[shakiyagotdreams]

All those sand bags n plywood n the roof will still come off😮 prayers to the families

[mynamedoesntmatter]

I can’t help but think of all the ecosystems that were once around the Florida coast, natural habitats for animals and plants (many extinct) that were wiped out by mankind because people wanted to tear all that down in order to build all the not natural habitats for mankind. We’ve been bad for so many natural resources that kept coastlines and waterways safe all in the name of progress. I just read a comment that simply said: “snakes and alligators want their their peninsula back.” People work against nature, not with it. We are paying the price.

[kingdramanyz]

please god protect my family, friends and those who wish me harm.

[occidelindaest]

You reap what you sow... Nature will take back what is hers

[DS-vtkn]

Disney World lines were super short for a reason lady. They should have cancelled that trip.

[MicDropBBQ]

I feel bad for all those people in Tesla vehicles that will have to literally walk away from their cars when their charge runs out. You can take a gas can of fuel, but you can't take a can of electricity anywhere.

[iplaybose]

"you can get another house"

yeah im not so sure about that, dear lady

[hunberter]

It appears that Milton and Helene are a man and wife couple that are fighting with each other. Helene ran away from Milton. Both Helene and Milton are violent and are constantly fighting with each other.

[SHARKSTER-us]

The fact that the planet is warming and the water is too hot 5° above temperature. I’m afraid this will be a trend. Florida will never be the same.

[Nashota]

I'd say that the glass of the woman at the very beginning of the video is always half full.

[atomicboomstic]

232 more like thousands across 6 states. Plz if you release info…make sure it’s correct 👀👍🏻

[Midnightrider]

Pray in the spirit and command this hellish storm to be sent to the 4 corners of the earth. command this storm in the name of creator God that it be purged of its strength and sent to the north the south the east and the west.Humanity has the power as long as it is unified.

[iamhorcruxer]

Tomorrow is gonna be the last day on Earth for some people bcuz of this storm, whether or not they are prepared. Hear me and rejoice