'God's got my back': Some Floridians defy evacuation orders as Hurricane Milton nears

EVERGLADES CITY, Fla. – Lloyd Martinez sipped a can of cold beer with two friends under a porch, enjoying the breeze sweeping in from the Gulf of Mexico as Hurricane Milton neared.

Unlike most residents who had fled the coastal community of Everglades City, the group decided to ride out the major hurricane on the second floor of a riverside seafood restaurant.

 “We’re thinking maybe the water reaches this high, we’re not really sure,” he said Wednesday morning, pointing to a spot on the outer wall of his apartment several feet high, as he held his dog, Candy. “We’re gonna be fine.”

While millions of Floridians poured onto highways to escape the incoming hurricane, many decided to hunker down in vulnerable areas, even despite mandatory evacuation orders. Residents said their house was elevated and would avoid the storm surge. Others said they feared running out of gas on traffic-jammed highways. Some said they wanted to leave but lacked the means to do so.

More:Hurricane Milton tracker: See projected path of 'extremely life-threatening' storm

Milton is expected to make landfall along Florida's Gulf Coast on Wednesday night, unleashing 8 to 12 feet of storm surge in some areas as well as pummeling winds and enough rain to trigger flash flooding in communities well inland.

By Wednesday afternoon, the Milton's outer bands spun up multiple tornadoes and began lashing the western coast of Florida with heavy rain. At a news conference, Gov. Ron DeSantis told residents still deciding whether they should evacuate that they were quickly running out of time.

"The conditions are starting to get bad," he said. "Listen to your local emergency managers about when it's too dangerous to go out. In many parts of Florida you probably could still go to a shelter, but you're starting to see major weather events happen."

More:Milton spinning up tornadoes as hurricane surges closer to Florida: Live updates

'If it was a direct hit, I’d probably be out of here'

In Marco Island, a city in southwestern Florida that juts out into the Gulf of Mexico, Tim McCoy went out for some last-minute supplies, filling up some gas canisters outside a boarded up service station.

Despite an islandwide mandatory evacuation order, McCoy said he plans to stay at his home because it was elevated. He’s most worried about losing electricity.

“We don’t have to worry about the flood, we just have to worry about power,” McCoy said. “If it was a direct hit, I’d probably be out of here.”

McCoy said he’s survived nearly 20 years of hurricanes including Hurricane Ian in 2022, which knocked out power across the island and inundated hundreds of buildings and vehicles in an 8-foot storm surge.

Those memories led many island residents to flee, some heading across the Everglades to safety on Tuesday.

By late morning Wednesday, most of the island had shut down and emptied out. Boats were tied up tight at two marinas. Gas stations wrapped pumps in plastic. And cars of evacuated residents packed raised parking lots.

 Still, a handful of locals were visible walking dogs or jogging before the winds began picking up.

Disabled mother stranded in St. Petersburg apartment

Stranded in a duplex in St. Petersburg, Katie Williams hopes she and her family will be spared from Hurricane Milton’s worst impacts.

Because of an eye condition that causes inflammation and blurry vision – and in some cases complete blindness – Williams can’t drive at night or in the rain, which has kept her from getting in her car and driving north.

Meanwhile, the 32-year-old has tried to get someone to board up her windows, but they asked for more than she can afford. Williams – who was briefly homeless before she found her current apartment two years ago – receives disability and supplements that with her own business, selling custom T-shirts and hats.

With only hours left before the storm makes landfall, she said she’s most concerned about the wind. Her apartment, which is not in a flood or mandatory evacuation zone, was built in the 1940s, she said.

“I don’t know what it can handle,” she said. “I run my own business here, and all of my expensive equipment and stuff is here, so I'm a little nervous that something could come through the window and destroy everything I worked hard for.”

Until the storm passes, she said she is going to lock herself in with her 10-year-old daughter Kiley and her adopted cat Honey. Williams said she hopes the storm wobbles south and St. Petersburg avoids the most dangerous conditions.

“I could barely sleep,” she said Wednesday, as the rain began to pick up and officials issued a tornado watch. “I'm just trying to be calm as a mom, you know, but I'm freaking out.”

Tampa resident plans to stay on his boat: 'Whatever happens happens'

As the rain began to fall in Tampa on Tuesday night, Joe Malinowski stood on his 22-foot sailboat Seashell and fretted about what Milton would bring.Malinowski, 54, has lived aboard the boat since March, and he normally anchors in the nearby bay, swimming ashore periodically for supplies. He rode out Helene on his boat in front of the Tampa Convention Center.“I slept like a baby,” he said.

Many Floridians live aboard boats and stay on them through hurricanes, including Helene. Coast Guard Petty Officer Eric Rodriguez previously told USA TODAY that many boaters ignore evacuation orders because they feel they have nowhere else to go. But he warned that the Coast Guard will not make rescues during a hurricane and that the maritime service branch strongly discourages anyone from remaining aboard their vessels.

“God’s got my back,” said Malinowski as the first rains from Milton began falling on his tattooed shoulder and chest. “He told me the flood’s coming. I got the boat like he told me, and do you think he sent me here to die? Whatever happens happens. And I know I’m going to come out unscathed and make everyone look like idiots."

Man lift spirits with bunny sculpture as Milton approaches

In Tampa, while many other people made last-minute preparations, metalworker Dominique Martinez took another tack, driving around in his white pickup with a 10-foot-tall, purple metal bunny in the back.

Martinez planned to ride out the storm in his studio home, which is inside an old city firehouse on high ground in Tampa.

Because he wasn’t worried about his safety, he said he could take time to drive around his sculpture, “Go Ask Dallas,” with the aim of bringing some levity to the panic-stricken city.

“So many people come up and are like, ‘this is so cool,’” he told a USA TODAY reporter Wednesday as the wind intensified. “The proof is in the pudding. Look at your smile!”

Family hunkers down in New Port Richey despite evacuation order

In New Port Richey, about an hour northwest of Tampa, Lloyd Anoa’i and his family anxiously awaited Hurricane Milton.

Anoa’i has crossed town dozens of times in recent days, searching for supplies, including gasoline, water and a generator to power the machine he uses for his kidney transplant medication.

While in line at checkout counters and waiting at service stations, he pondered over one question: Should I evacuate?

He ultimately decided to stay – despite a mandatory evacuation order – because he did not want to get stuck on the highway and run out of gas. Looking at his home, which is not in a flood zone and has been fortified with wood slabs and sandbags, fleeing seemed riskier.

In case things turn for the worst, he has packed a bag with several days of supplies for him, his wife, Laura, their 17-year-old son, Keanu, and their golden retriever, Rosco.

“We prayed and kept it in God's hands,” Anoa’i said. “Now we’re just hoping that everything goes well. Any damage outside is fine. We're just worried about ourselves.”