Colombian women in Florida tell how they will face the powerful Hurricane Milton with extreme winds: ‘People are desperate’

He Hurricane Miltonwith extreme winds, advances towards the Florida, United States, a region where thousands of Latin Americans live. In dialogue with EL TIEMPO, Three Colombian women told how they and their families are preparing for the imminent arrival of the phenomenon.

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‘Everything is like static, waiting to see what happens’

“Today the sun was beautiful, there is no breeze, you can’t see birds either. Everything is like static, waiting to see what happens. That’s the weather and the environment,” he described Liliana Prieto, who lives in Ruskin, very close to the city of Tampa, on the west coast of Florida.

According to the forecast from the United States National Hurricane Center, that region could experience “devastating winds”, accompanied by a “destructive storm surge with floods highest of 10 feet” (more than three meters).

For this reason, the mayor of Tampa, Jane Castor, has issued a strong warning to residents: “If you decide to stay in an area that you must evacuate, you are going to die.”

Path of Hurricane Milton in Florida, United States.

Photo:United States National Hurricane Center

The Colombian supports the president’s words: “I understand why the mayor speaks so loudly, it may be scandalous, but it is reality. There are people who live in places where they definitely can’t be and still don’t want to leave. I think that you should not cling to material things, but rather save your life. It is a hurricane that is coming very strong. “It will be very difficult for a military or police officer to come and help you if you are under water or, suddenly, a tree or power grid falls on your house.”

‘Strong Tampa’ reads the window covering of a city house in preparation for Hurricane Milton.

Photo:Bryan R. SMITH / AFP

Liliana, originally from Cartagena and owner of a beauty center in Florida, is aware of the news and the trajectory of the hurricane to define where it will go.

“Tomorrow (Wednesday, October 9) we would be leaving for my son’s house. If we see that it gets more complicated, we will go to Miami. Right now we are waiting. We already have the windows closed in the house, everything hermetically closed. We’re just inside watching and cooking.“he added.

Prieto assured EL TIEMPO that, in the years living in Florida, he had never seen concerns about two hurricanes in such a short time. It is worth saying that on September 26, The State was hit by Hurricane Helene, which left more than 200 dead as it passed through the country.

Residents of Tampa, Florida, fill sandbags ahead of Hurricane Milton.

Photo:Bryan R. SMITH / AFP

“We have never had two hurricanes in a row; much less at such a strong level. We have not been as prepared because people have not recovered from the first hurricane,” he said.

‘We have decided to stay home’

Mary Luz Omaña resides in St. Cloud, in the eastern part of Florida, with her four children, husband, mother and mother-in-law. There is no evacuation order there and, from the National Hurricane Center, Milton would arrive in said area more weakened.

“We have decided to stay at home. Friends have offered us to travel to Miami or Georgia, but it is a difficult decision because we are a large family. We decided to stay after seeing so much traffic of people wanting to go out. There is no gas, we have half a tank . How are we going to start the road and stay halfway? We don’t know what we find along the way. People are desperate, we think it is better to stay at home“, he pointed out to EL TIEMPO.

According to him, his family has been cooking in case there are public service outages: “It is important that we have boiled eggs, arepas, chicken, cakes.”

They have also received notifications from local authorities to stock up on medicines and have their family members’ identification documents on hand.

Vehicles on the highway head east on I-75 from Florida’s west coast ahead of Hurricane Milton.

Photo:AFP

Depending on the news tonight, we would make the decision to leave the house and go to my son’s school, which has been set up as a shelter.“he concluded.

‘We don’t know what can happen’

Seleny Montañez has lived in the United States for ten years. Although he lived in New York, he moved to the Floridafor the climate and the imposing landscapes. Now, she is getting ready with her husband, daughter and son-in-law for the next few hours.

“We are four people at home, prepared with absolutely everything, food, water, medicine. We don’t know what can happen. We don’t know how strong it will be,” he said in a conversation with this newspaper.

She lives in Lockhart, Orange County, an area where there is currently no evacuation order for Hurricane Milton.

“We expect the impact on Wednesday night. The strongest thing that comes is destroying everything, hoping that this does not become something bigger. (…) We don’t know how many days (we will be locked up), it could be three days, in “Some areas may take much longer, but it is difficult.”

Traffic in the region where Seleny lives.

Photo:Courtesy of Seleny Montañez

In the tours he has taken, he has seen that the inhabitants are looking to stock up: “The situation is a little complex. There is no longer water in the supermarkets, nor is there gasoline.”

A son of Seleny lives in Key Coral, region west of Florida that, based on the forecasts of the National Hurricane Center, would suffer serious impacts.

“They already evacuated because they were forced. A police car passed by saying through a megaphone that they had to evacuate. He had to leave for Miami, it was a trip of more or less two hours, but it took him almost five hours to get to Miami because the traffic It was terrible,” he said.

When will Hurricane Milton hit Florida?

The National Hurricane Center predicts that Hurricane Milton will make landfall on the west coast of Florida on the night of this Wednesday, October 9. It would cross the State and reach the east coast on the morning of Thursday, October 10.

“Milton is forecast to remain a hurricane as it crosses the Florida Peninsula and life-threatening hurricane force winds, especially in gusts, are expected to extend inland across the peninsula,” he noted.

SEBASTIÁN GARCÍA C.

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