As Hurricane Milton heads toward Florida, several people with connections to Northeast Ohio are preparing for what's predicted to be one of the most destructive storms to hit the area.
At The Villages, things were calm early Wednesday morning as Ohio snowbird Don Tkacz walked outside. Tkacz said his winter home is right on the edge of the hurricane warning zone.
"I think we'll have about eight hours of 30 miles per hour wind," he said. "Gusts could be up to about 60 or so."
Still, the part-time Wooster resident prepared his home by bringing in lawn furniture, taping up the windows on his van, and keeping his food pantry stocked.
"It's going to do what it's going to do," he said. "So, we can only do what we can control."
Others have had to flee their homes.
Parma native Heather Siedlecki moved to Port Richey back in March. She rode out Hurricane Helene a few weeks ago and was lucky enough to have only a few trees in her yard damaged. But Milton's projections were just too big for Siedlecki to stay at home.
"I've been watching it like a meteorologist," she said. "I don't know the dimensions, but it's moving."
Siedlecki and her husband are staying out of the storm's path in a St. Augustine hotel. She said gas and food in the area was limited. She's depending on some homemade meals to get her through the storm.
"We have canned food," she said. "We have a microwave here as long as the power stays on. I have some canned fruit, crackers, tuna fish."
On the way to help is the American Red Cross, including volunteer Rick McCullough from Niles. He's been stationed in Florida for the last two weeks, helping set up shelters and providing food and water to those devastated by Hurricane Helene.
"We've seen everything from people just pulling out furniture and replacing it," he said. "To complete home disasters. They have to start all over again. We've seen it all."
McCullough said he's at a hotel in Fort Lauderdale waiting to receive his marching orders once the storm passes. He expects the storm will further damage communities still reeling from Helene's devastation.
"We are going to hit everything that we can cause we know there's going to be a lot of damage," McCullough said. "We don't even know what we're going to end up seeing. It's going to be a surprise to us. It's going to be shocking, but we're going to be taking it one day at a time."
