While still cleaning up from the damage of Hurricane Helene, many residents in the Tampa-St. Pete Beach area are facing the reality that Milton could be significantly worse.
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00:00Our team coverage of Hurricane Milton continues right now with AccuWeather correspondent Leslie Hudson.
00:04Leslie joins us live from Tampa with the latest. Leslie, how's it going out there and what's the
00:09mood? I know people are very concerned about this and rightfully so.
00:16They really are and I have such large empathy for these people. I am a Florida native, lived here my
00:22entire life, born and raised here, so I especially feel for my Floridian friends and family that
00:29live here too, actually, that are bracing for yet another one-two punch. There are a lot of people
00:35here that are just kind of in a daze. They're trying to get themselves organized. We're actually
00:39back over the bridge in Madera Beach still, but on the other side of the causeway and these boats
00:44fared well from Helene. I wanted to point that out. There were a lot of marinas around here and
00:49boat slips that did not fare well. This is a little wind protected, but if we get that to
00:54projected surge that AccuWeather's been talking about, it's really going to be a dangerous
00:58situation with these boats. We're likely not staying where they are right now. Things of course
01:02calm. We're expecting that to change, but I can tell you that the hotel that I was in last night,
01:08they actually had a table for free items. So, you know, toiletries, clothing, cleaning utensils,
01:15you know, a lot of the people that are in these hotels are refugees from Helene. They'll be staying
01:20put if they can. This particular hotel is actually a historic hotel. This is the Thunderbird Beach
01:26Resort, and it's been around since 1957. It is a well-known beach resort here in the barrier
01:34islands of the Tampa State Beach area, and the workers are working voluntarily today trying to
01:40get all of that debris out of the hotel and get them loaded into trucks. It's really been
01:45heartwarming to see they all kind of rallied together. We talked to Tiffany Kitchens, who
01:50has been with the Thunderbird Resort for 14 years, and here's what she had to say about Milton.
01:56We just praying Milton do something else. Make a turn because I have to evacuate too at my home.
02:04Is it scary being out here knowing that in a couple days it's going to be a really dangerous
02:08situation again? Very scary because I think everybody should take Milton serious,
02:12and I've been working here almost 14 years. Nothing like this. Nothing.
02:20And I think that's the sentiment for a lot of the people here. You know, they were not expecting the
02:25damage they got from Haleen with that incredible amount of sand and water that came through the
02:30barrier islands. You know, unprecedented. They've gotten most of the sand off those barrier islands.
02:35I will say that there's still some isolated dunes, but there's still a ton of debris,
02:39and that is the concern. And everyone that lives around here has been told they need to make their
02:43final preps and be out of here by early tomorrow morning. As you know, mandatory evacs are already
02:48ongoing in all of these barrier islands, and no rescue personnel will be here tomorrow,
02:53probably by midday. Reporting live from Madeira Beach, I'm Leslie Hudson for AccuWeather. Back to
02:58you. All right. Thanks for your reporting there, Leslie. And we are facing again some quieter
03:03weather at the moment, specifically in Tampa. Thankfully, not seeing the rain that we're
03:07facing in South Florida right now.