From doggy diapers to BBQs: Florida residents refusing to flee Hurricane Milton share tips as they ready for storm
9 October 2024, 13:00 | Updated: 9 October 2024, 13:21
Florida residents who are refusing to flee are battening down the hatches ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall in the US.
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Tampa city looks set to feel the full force of the Category 5 hurricane, meteorologists say, as the city prepares to be hit by the epicentre of the storm - with sustained winds of 160mph.
It comes as latest forecasts predict Hurricane Milton to weaken to a Category 3 storm as it makes landfall in the southern state on Wednesday night.
With highways gridlocked as thousands of residents flee the state, many have chosen to remain, with locals prepping for the storm in a host of creative ways.
Many residents have taken to social media to document their lockdown experience, with one paediatric doctor locking down in a Florida hospital while her children, husband and pets fled the state.
Another farm owner in the state took to TikTok to show how she was forced to write the names of her cows on their torsos in case they were displaced or for identification purposes after the hurricane.
Other residents have been pictured barricading their homes, prepping supplies and documenting their hacks ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall.
One Florida resident turned a cupboard under the stairs into a bed for his young family, while others stocked up on doggdiapers and rectangles of turf to cater to scared pets.
Another proclaimed she was preparing for the storm by throwing a BBQ in her back yard.
It comes as Florida’s Attorney General told residents who are refusing to evacuate to write their name in permanent marker on their arm so that their bodies can be more easily identified.
Ashley Moody made the stark comment in a press conference with Republican Senator Rick Scott on Monday, addressing residents defying evacuation orders.
She said any Floridians who aren't evacuating that "you probably need to write your name in permanent marker on your arm so that people know who you are when they get to you afterwards.”
Read more: LIVE: Millions of people scramble to flee Florida as ‘unsurvivable’ hurricane Milton due to hit coastline in hours
Tampa residents remaining in situ have described how authorities have instructed them to store "enough food and water for three days".
Taking to TikTok, Tampa resident Angey B said that should the power go out, she would "do a BBQ, maybe, in my back yard," adding she had life jackets prepped for herself and her three children.
Others documented their home furniture raised up on buckets in preparation for the storm surge that's set to flood low-lying homes.
The storm looks set to be the worst to hit the area in nearly a century - with coastal areas expected to feel a storm surge of 10-15ft (3m-4.5m), with localised rainfall up to 1.5ft.
Other residents prepped for lockdown alongside their pets - many of whom are likely to be extremely stressed during the storm.
One social media user, Summer Fields, took to TikTok to showcase packs of doggy diapers for her scared pet, with the animal confined to life indoors.
Another user showed a square patch of turf that had been prepared for their pet to use as a bathroom ahead of the storm.
Others used human remedies, stocking up on antihistamine Benadryl to "drug" their pet and calm it during the Category 5 storm.
Top lockdown goods included baby wipes - "We need to be wiping the pits, I can't be stuck the house with a smelly boy for a week".
Many could be seen investing in industrial strength tape to secure items.
Officials are warning of a 15ft storm surge taking out power and potentially washing away homes in Tampa Bay.
Millions of people were desperately fleeing the Tampa Bay region today as Hurricane Milton strengthened on its approach to Florida.
The Category 5 storm could make landfall on Wednesday night in the Tampa Bay area, which has a population of more than 3.3 million people.
