Florida homeowners fleeing unprecedented Hurricane Milton say they are “all doomed” and fear they will have no homes to return to.
Terrified Floridians braced for 175 mph winds as the Category 5 storm barreled through the Gulf of Mexico toward Tampa Bay.
Many are still reeling from the evacuations caused by Hurricane Helene just two weeks ago, which claimed at least 230 lives and washed away thousands of homes.
‘I’m leaving quickly this time. But when I come back, I just know there’s nothing to go back to,” Joe Barness, who had to be rescued from his waterfront home by a sheriff’s airboat during Hurricane Helene, told DailyMail.com.
“Helene was a warning to get out. The storm surge was devastating. But this, the flood, will be worse than anyone’s imagination.
“The wind will push that salty water like never before. Every house in this neighborhood is doomed.”
Damaged homes and debris litter the street of Tampa, Florida, Dana Shores neighborhood, October 8. There are fears of more destruction once Hurricane Milton hits
Some Dana Shores householders had warnings against looting in the aftermath of Helene. “Our guns are dry, dry, dry” is painted in large letters on one spot’s garage door
Floridians told to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Milton’s impact have expressed fear that they will have nothing to return to. Pictured: Tampa resident Wally Sawyer outside his garage
Part-time real estate agent Barness, 65, was hastily collecting belongings before clearing out his $800,000 single-story home in the normally idyllic Dana Shores area, which immediately borders the north side of Tampa Bay. It is dotted with small canals where homeowners can park boats at the back.
Sawyer was sandbagging the structure ahead of the arrival 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, refurbished two-story homes, is already a testament to the power of a hurricane.
Almost every house was flooded by a storm surge that at Helene was up to 3 meters high.
Piles of furniture, carpets, beloved photos, tables, beds – the contents of people’s lives – are still piled high outside dozens of properties.
Some Dana Shores householders had warnings against looting in the aftermath of Helene.
“Our guns are dry, dry, dry” is painted in large letters on one spot’s garage door.
A few doors down, an automated video system utters the words “Hello, you’re being recorded” as someone walks by on the street.
Many stayed through Helene. Now they’re all fleeing en masse as Milton continues to approach Florida’s west coast with unprecedented intensity and, at worst, a storm surge of up to 15 feet.
Damaged homes and debris strewn street of Tampa, Florida’s Dana Shores neighborhood
Barness’ dire prophecy came as an almost surreal atmosphere descended on Tampa on Tuesday.
As millions of people headed north to escape Milton’s path, traffic in the Bay, home to 2.5 million people, was noticeably calmer.
The whole area feels like it’s waiting for an apocalypse. Local TV weather expert Denis Phillips, considered the guru of hurricane reporting, has said: ‘This is a beast.’
Dana Shore resident Joe Barness told DailyMail.com he feels like he is “doomed” as he prepared to evacuate for the second time in a few weeks after being forced to flee Hurricane Helene.
Gas is like gold. At many stations there is tape along the entrances to make it clear that they are outside.
When a gas station does have stock, huge lines form as desperate drivers rush to fill up
Such is the value of gasoline – as a means of last-minute escape or survival for what lies ahead – that DailyMail.com witnessed a fuel truck being escorted from front to back by black police SUVs.
On the quiet street where Barness lives with 50-year-old girlfriend Vilma Wolfe, more than 40 U-Haul or similar trucks lined the roadway yesterday as people accepted that their dreams of living there could be over for good.
“There were vehicles that were six meters high and people were just piling what they had rescued from Helene into them,” Barness added. “They ran off with all their belongings, and they’re not coming back.
A boarded up and damaged home on Davis Island in Tampa, Florida, after Hurricane Helene
Dana Shore resident Pauline Cuesta, 92, left her home after 53 years and fears it could be the last time she ever sees it
Retired NASA deputy technical director Wally Sawyer tried to protect his garage with plastic sheeting
“They won’t have a reason to come back.” What do they come back to? A storm surge of 15 feet will wipe this place out.
‘I’m thinking of tearing down my house and trying to rebuild it. I only bought it three years ago and put everything into it.
‘This is the real deal. There’s a direct cone coming straight at us and it’s not changing course. I’ll say it again: we are doomed with this. I really believe that.
‘People are boarded up, but what use is that? This place is becoming a ghost town.”
Car enthusiast Barness lost vehicles in the Helene flood, including a salmon-pink 1959 Chevrolet Biscayne station wagon he had just purchased for $30,000.
On the same street, 92-year-old Pauline Cuesta clutched her small dog and spoke to DailyMail.com moments before fleeing her home of 53 years – realizing it might be the last time she calls it home.
All her furniture and most of her household items were destroyed in Helene’s storm surge. Now she takes her essentials with her; crucial documents, jewelry, sentimental items.
‘We continued through Helene and the water rushed in at a shocking speed. We just didn’t expect that. There was nothing we could do. It was three feet tall and ruined everything.
Her son, Indy Cuesta, warned that if the weather forecast is as bad as expected, his mother’s entire house could be flooded.
‘But now it’s getting much worse. We just take with us all the things we need to survive if we lose the house for good. The things of our lives.’
Son Indy, 55, who helped her move, predicted: ‘If this wave is 15 feet high, this entire house could be completely submerged. My father built it. We’ve done pretty much everything here our entire 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 know no wealth. On exclusive Davis Island, a short bridge away from downtown Tampa, locals take off.
Here, mansions costing more than $20 million face the same terrifying prospect of destruction from rising salt water and gale force winds.
Retired NASA technical director Wally Sawyer cut a lonely figure as he did his best to cover the underside of his garage with plastic sheeting and pin it in place with sandbags.
“I have no idea if this will be of any use, but you have to try,” the 82-year-old told DailyMail.com.
Water damage from Hurricane Helene seen at Pauline Cuesta’s home before the arrival of Hurricane Milton
During Helene, almost every house was flooded by a storm surge of up to 3 meters high
‘We were away for Helene, but the wave brought in a meter of water. We’re looking at eight or nine if the predictions are correct with Milton.
‘We are fortunate that the living area of the house is more than one and a half meters above the ground. But there are so many one-story houses here. And those will be flooded if the worst happens.
‘We love this neighborhood. My heart goes out to those whose homes will be destroyed. They will be underwater.
‘I don’t think anyone is staying here. The kind of storm surge they’re talking about with these winds is unsurvivable.
‘We’ve never known anything like Helene. What’s going to happen is unthinkable.’
