ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:
Hurricane Milton is lashing the west coast of Florida as a major Category 3 storm. Its impacts are being felt across most of the Florida peninsula, but some of the strongest winds are in and around Sarasota, south of Tampa. That's the area where the eye of the hurricane came ashore tonight. Here's Florida Governor Ron DeSantis a short time ago.
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RON DESANTIS: The storm is here. It's time for everybody to hunker down. And then we've got massive amounts of resources that have been prepared for this storm.
SHAPIRO: Officials say this could be one of the most destructive storms in the state's history. NPR's Adrian Florido is in Sarasota. And, Adrian, what's the latest where you are?
ADRIAN FLORIDO, BYLINE: Well, the eyewall of the hurricane has made landfall right around here, in Sarasota, where I am, as you've said. Winds have been topping 120 miles per hour. But a little while ago, things got eerily quiet as the eye passed over us. We're in the dark here. The power has gone out in much of the region. But we're smack in the middle of this right now, Ari, so it's a little unclear what kind of damage Milton is inflicting.
Beyond the wind, a big concern is the storm surge - that wall of seawater that the winds are expected to push onto land. It could reach 12 feet, meaning that, if that comes to pass, houses will be submerged. Some may be washed away. This storm is also unleashing an abnormally large number of tornadoes. The governor said a short time ago that almost two dozen have touched down, some destroying houses and other structures. And all of this is why hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of people have evacuated in the last couple of days.
SHAPIRO: I know you are in your hotel now. But what did you see as you drove around Sarasota earlier today?
FLORIDO: Neighborhoods were eerily quiet. Many people boarded up their homes and got out of town. Not everyone, though - I ran into Elizabeth Ward (ph) in front of her house in a neighborhood not too far from the water. It's in a part of town that was told to evacuate because of concern over the storm surge. Ward told me a lot of neighbors left, but some did not, and she and her husband were boarding up their windows and planning to stay at home.
ELIZABETH WARD: We might make the last-minute decision to go to the evacuation shelter. But as of right now, I think we're going to try to ride it out.
FLORIDO: She did evacuate her three youngest children, and then she, her husband and two oldest kids decided to stay. She told me she is not at all confident that that projected storm surge will not reach them. If it does reach them, they're in trouble because it's a small, one-story house, and they're going to have no way out.
SHAPIRO: So why not just leave?
FLORIDO: It's a difficult question for a lot of people. Some have been through storms before, and they just hope it's not going to be as bad as forecast. Others can't afford to leave or don't want to go to shelters. For Ward, she said it was logistically going to be a nightmare, but she also said this.
WARD: I'm a hurricane girl. I love hurricanes. I love the excitement. I love the wind. I love the rain. I love a good thunderstorm. But this one definitely has me - has my heart in my throat. I am definitely a little scared about this one.
FLORIDO: Now, she said she knows it's not a good idea to stick around. Officials have been pleading with people to evacuate - they had been. But at this point, unless it's a life-threatening situation, officials are saying it's really too late and not safe to be outdoors right now.
SHAPIRO: We've seen interstates clogged with people leaving the region. Counties also made shelters available closer to people's homes. Have those filled up?
FLORIDO: They have been filling up. I went to a large one at a public high school here in Sarasota today - this hulking, sturdy, concrete complex of buildings with space for about 2,000 people. It was full, but staff were depositing last-minute arrivals into every nook and cranny. This is Ascension Herrera (ph). He's an immigrant from Mexico, and he checked in there earlier today.
ASCENSION HERRERA: (Speaking Spanish).
FLORIDO: He said that he lives in a wooden house, and he was afraid that it could be flattened. It was remarkable, Ari, to see this packed shelter. People in Florida are used to hurricanes. They tend to resist evacuating. They don't like to leave their homes. But to see so many people from all walks of life there - it speaks to the widespread fear that Milton is causing. People at the shelter told me they think this could be the worst storm of their lives. So it's good they're there. Those people are going to live.
SHAPIRO: NPR's Adrian Florido reporting from Sarasota, Florida. Thank you, and stay safe.
FLORIDO: Thanks, Ari. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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