Plymouth woman in Florida expresses 'anxiety' as Hurricane Milton hits

Kate Collins has gathered supplies such as a generator, batteries, lanterns, food, and water

A Plymouth woman who lives in Florida has expressed her "anxiety" as Hurricane Milton hits the state. The Met Office has warned that the Category 3 storm will be “dangerous and destructive”.

Kate Collins, 52, moved to Florida three decades ago. Although she doesn't live in a mandatory evacuation zone, she has prepared for the hurricane by gathering supplies such as a generator, batteries, lanterns, food, and water.

She is also sheltering five individuals and five dogs in her Volusia County home. Ms Collins said: "The mood in the house is definite anxiety. Preparing for the worst and hoping for the best.

"After 30 years I do think you become complacent but this one had me concerned from the start – call it a gut feeling but I did prepare early enough."

She also noted the eerie quietness in the neighbourhood, with some neighbours boarding up their windows and store shelves running empty of essentials like water, gas for cars, and batteries. Ms Collins shared that she has weathered several hurricanes in Florida, but "nothing quite like this since Charley in 2004", when she lost part of her roof and was without power for several days.

"I am far less concerned about my house than the safety of my family and friends. You can replace material items but not loss of life. Of course it would be devastating but we can rebuild," she expressed. "We just experienced Helene which left our neighbours to the north and west of us in a critical situation with no time to dry out and clean up."

"There is no doubt that our state will experience devastating loss due to the size and intensity of this storm, we can only pray that it does not include loss of lives."

Wind speeds hit 120mph

Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida at about 8.30pm local time. The US National Hurricane Centre reports the hurricane had maximum sustained winds of 120mph.

The US National Weather Service has also issued the highest level of flood warning to more than two million residents within Milton’s path. Meanwhile, around 1.6 million people have been plunged into darkness so far due to power cuts.

Met Office tropical prediction scientist Julian Hemming said Milton’s “extremely strong winds” could cause “severe structural damage”. He added: “But also the thing we’re really concerned about is the storm surge.

“And around the hurricane, and particularly to the south of the eye of the hurricane, we could get a storm surge of up to 15ft, which would cause extreme flooding along the coastal strip.”

Mr Hemming said there could potentially be 300 to 400 millimetres of rain over the next two days over central parts of Florida.

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