'Relieved and blessed': Wisconsinites living in Florida share their experience during Hurricane Milton

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- People in Florida are cleaning up Thursday, after Hurricane Milton made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key as a category three storm.

Damage levels are mixed across the state, with some experiencing storm surge, and others, just debris.

We heard from several former Wisconsinites, who are there now, about their experiences.

"I'm sure we will have a lot of yard waste to clean up in the next week or so," said Mary Randall, a former Cudahy resident who now lives in Riverview, Florida.

As Hurricane Milton inched closer to her county, Randall evacuated to Port St. Lucie to stay with friends.

"This is the first hurricane that we've had - that's been really major in the Tampa Bay area - for over a hundred years," Randall said.

Neighbors who stayed in Riverview said her house is okay.

Meanwhile, Hamza Alshakhly, from Green Bay, saw bad damage in Sarasota, where he hunkered down with a friend.

"Storm gutters blew off our apartment; that's when people's patios were falling apart. We could hear the loudest crackling of trees literally just coming apart," he explained.

Alshakhly went to Sarasota from his apartment in St. Petersburg, which was centered in the evacuation zone.

"I got my computer out, I got my work stuff out, and most importantly, I got my two cats out," he said.

Marshall Chay is from Wauwatosa and now living in Fort Myers. He chose not to evacuate but said Wednesday night was concerning.

"The winds started howling, and it felt like a freight train, literally, for five hours, and I remember thinking maybe I should have evacuated," Chay said.

He was still without power Thursday, but for the most part, Chay's neighborhood is okay.

"A lot of neighbors are smiling today of relief, mostly because of what could have happened," he explained.

Damage inland wasn't as bad, but the storm still swept through.

"It was just whistling and rumbling, it was quite incredible," said Tom Cheng, a Wisconsinite living in Lakewood Ranch, Florida. His property fared well.

"Relieved. Very relieved and blessed," Cheng said.

Many of the residents CBS 58 heard from also experienced Hurricane Ian in 2022.

Chay said in Fort Myers, Ian brought worse storm surge, but Milton's winds were much worse - like nothing he had experienced before.