‘Prepare, pray and hope.’ Bradenton residents take Milton prep seriously after Helene
Manatee County residents still reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene are rushing to prepare and evacuate ahead of the second major storm in as many weeks.
People in Bradenton boarded windows and packed their cars ready to leave Monday morning while debris and damage left by Hurricane Helene remain widespread. As Hurricane Milton could make a direct hit in Manatee County with powerful winds and a life-threatening storm surge, many in the area have yet to recover from the historic storm surge brought by Helene.
The latest Milton path prediction from the National Hurricane Center has the storm making landfall anywhere between Tampa Bay and Venice, making it the most significant hurricane threat for the Bradenton area in several decades.
On Monday, Milton “explosively” intensified into a Category 5 storm near the Yucatan Peninsula. While the storm is expected to weaken before landfall along Florida’s Gulf Coast, meteorologists say it will remain a deadly and incredibly powerful storm.
Pete Thornton, 81, and his wife, Jeanne, 81, fear the combination of Helene and Milton will spell the end of their time in Florida. Back-to-back storms and the damage that comes with them is too much, Pete said.
“This is probably the end of us being down here,” Pete said quietly, tears welling in his eyes.
The couple has lived in Florida part-time for the last 20 years, dividing their time between the Sunshine State and Minnesota. But when the storm surge from Hurricane Helene caused a shipping container to float across the street and knock his home’s foundation in Trailer Estates, the significant damage left behind caused him to reconsider the viability of living in Florida as storms become more frequent and more intense.
Manatee County braces for Milton
Much of Trailer Estates in Bradenton shows the signs of the recent storm, from the Thornton’s crumbled foundation to the damaged carports to the debris littered throughout the neighborhood.
Now, with Hurricane Milton on the way, Pete and Jeanne are evacuating to a nearby motel for the second time in less than two weeks and are likely done with the area.
“This is the end. Either we have to knock what’s left here to the ground and call it a day, or hopefully, we can fix it back up and sell it. But we’re gone,” Pete said.
The Thorntons aren’t the only ones evacuating as a powerful Category 5 storm approaches.
First-time evacuees flee powerful hurricane
Pat O’Connor, 63, of Royal Garden Estates off of Cortez Road, did his best Monday morning to prepare his mobile home for the oncoming storm. While O’Connor said he hoped this would prevent Hurricane Milton from ripping the roof off, for the first time in his 10 years of living here he won’t be hanging around to find out.
“Never evacuated before, but this time we’re going to try because this storm just sounds like it’s so bad,” O’Connor said.
While O’Connor said he was lucky and didn’t sustain any damage during Hurricane Helene, his sister who lives in the mobile home next door lost half her carport.
O’Connor saw that storm as a warning and took Milton seriously. His preparations included installing hurricane shutters and making sure to secure as much around his mobile home as possible. Despite securing his home, O’Connor believes evacuation is the right move.
A few homes away, Barbara Waymire also prepared to evacuate, packing up a car full of her belongings. Waymore hopes the storm doesn’t end up as bad as some meteorologists are predicting.
“I’m getting ready to leave, but I just hope when I return, I have a home to come back to,” Waymire said.
But not everybody is evacuating. At Advanced Dental Cosmetic Center off Manatee Avenue, Dr. Terry Alford, 77, and others boarded up the windows. Alford, who lives in Northwest Bradenton, plans to ride out the storm but is concerned for the area due to Hurricane Milton’s intensity.
“This storm here is a little scarier,” Alford said.
Back-to-back hurricanes in Bradenton
Milton’s size and strength made Alford grateful to have the help of his neighbor, 59-year-old Paul Connors and a longtime friend, Gerald Grace, who drove down from Jasper, Alabama overnight.
Alford said he’s had to put those boards on his windows many times over the years since moving to Manatee County from Alabama in 1978. But Alford said he’s paying extra close attention to this storm.
With Helene fresh in people’s minds, many are weary of the damage Hurricane Milton could bring.
“If another storm comes, I’m worried it’s just going to wipe Anna Maria Island off the map,” said Marilee Bell, 70.
Bell, who has lived in her home in Southwood Village in Bayshore Gardens for 38 years, said she is worried about the storm but is staying put. She will hunker down with her four cats: Bentley, Tarragon, Moose and Licorice.
Bell said she has enough cat food for them and enough non-perishables for her, as well as an assorted stockpile of batteries, flashlights, radios and a briefcase full of her most important documents sitting on her kitchen counter if the storm becomes too much and she has to go.
Helene, Bell said, was awful for so much of the community and she’s concerned that Milton may bring more of the same or worse. But she’s lived in her Bradenton home for decades and after her husband passed 12 years ago, she just wants to ride it out.
“Sometimes all you can do is prepare, pray and hope everything works out,” Bell said.
