As Hurricane Milton approaches, residents from across Florida are arriving in St. Johns County, seeking safety from the storm’s potential destruction.
Evacuees from Tampa, Dunedin, and other western areas are filling hotels, with many choosing St. Augustine as their refuge.
Choosing Safety Over Risk
Guadalupe Eickhoff, a retired teacher from St. Petersburg, knows the dangers of hurricanes all too well. After surviving Hurricane Helene, she didn’t want to take any chances.
“We had a mandatory evacuation, so we decided to follow the orders,” Eickhoff told The Citizen. Her home is still surrounded by debris from the last storm.
At first, she booked an Airbnb in St. Augustine but changed plans after learning it was in a flood-prone area. Instead, she found a hotel near the St. Augustine Premium Outlets, where many other evacuees had also taken shelter.
Despite the uncertainty, Eickhoff said moving out of Florida was not an option.
“No,” she said. “We’re Floridians.”
A Tough Road Ahead
Carlos Santo, a retired doctor from Bradenton, was also forced to leave his home, which was heavily damaged by Helene. Now, he’s staying in St. Augustine, trying to cope with the stress.
“I don’t even drink beer,” Santo said as he sipped a lager on a local pub’s porch. “But I needed to chill.”
His dog, Sophie, rested at his feet while he admitted that he wasn’t optimistic about what was left of his home.
“This one is much worse,” he said. “It’s going to do us in.”
Finding Shelter in St. Johns
For some, hotels weren’t an option. St. Johns County opened three shelters to help evacuees.
Julie Brown and her husband arrived at a general shelter at Pedro Menendez High School, just 10 minutes from their home. She feared that heavy rain would cause trees to fall near her trailer.
“I think the trailer will still be there,” Brown said. “But just in case, I didn’t want a tree to land on me.”
Others, like Jacob Robertson, turned to a pet-friendly shelter at South Woods Elementary. Outside, he played with his dog, McDuffie, before heading inside. Since pets must stay in a separate room unless they’re service animals, he wanted to spend a little more time together before parting ways.
As Hurricane Milton nears, evacuees are bracing for the worst while hoping for the best.
