MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Tenn. (WTVF) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis says the extent of the damage from Hurricane Milton will become clearer in the days to come, but the deadly storm appears to have been less catastrophic than predicted.
At least four people are dead. Power is out to more than 3 million customers, and the threat of flooding remains in some areas. In St. Lucie County, a tornado destroyed the sheriff's office, but the sheriff expressed relief that his crew was spared.
Hurricane Milton did force millions to flee, leading to miles of traffic backups. Kissimmee resident Nikki Davis was one of those who evacuated to Montgomery County, where her typical 11-hour trip turned into more than 20 hours.
“You think you know where everything is. Think you got everything. Leaving stuff. Trying to decide what’s important,” Davis said.
She evacuated from Kissimmee — a city near Orlando with her 3 young children and sister — weighing the cost of leaving but ultimately choosing to stay with her mother. Davis shared that concerns about potential damage influenced her decision.
“When they said we were getting some pretty nasty stuff, I thought about my roof caving in and windows going and what kind of stuff can come inside. No, no, no, no,” Davis said, referencing the wildlife from the nature reserve near her home, which includes alligators.
She describes the journey as chaos.
"It was a miserable trip to say the least. There were people who couldn’t find gas that were on the side of the road," Davis said.
Davis expressed gratitude for the support she received in Tennessee.
“I’ve had nothing but love since I’ve gotten here from friends and family,” she said.
Photos of her neighborhood after the storm showed animals on the loose, damaged car windows, and downed trees, with many still dealing with power outages.
Davis is glad her family evacuated.
She said planned to return to Florida on Saturday, ready to tackle the clean-up ahead. Davis hopes for a calmer trip when her family returns to Florida.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at aaron.cantrell@newschannel5.com
For people of my generation, in our younger days we spent part of our weekends watching music shows like American Bandstand and Soul Train. That was before the age of music videos. Several years before Soul Train was syndicated out of Chicago, another syndicated R&B show was taped in Nashville at NewsChannel 5. Night Train aired in the 60s and included what may have been the first TV appearance for legendary guitarist Jimi Hendrix. Forrest Sanders has another great look back at station history.
-Lelan Statom
