Former Ottawa residents prepare for Hurricane Milton to hit Florida’s west coast

Motorists wait in line to fill gas tanks Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, in Riverview, Fla., before Hurricane Milton makes landfall along Florida's gulf coast. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

As Hurricane Milton closes in on the sunshine state, residents across Florida are preparing for the worst.

“There’s no fuel left in our neighbourhood. The shelves are clear of bread, eggs, toilet paper, of course,” said Canadian Angelina Armstrong.

Armstrong and her husband, who is from Ottawa, live about 40 kilometers from the coast.

She says they’re preparing for wind speeds of up to 150 kilometres per hour.

“We’re stocked up on water and food supplies, so we have plenty of fuel. We’re lucky to have a generator. Very lucky to have a generator if need be. We’re told to expect power outages,” said Armstrong.

Milton’s near-record winds and massive storm surge is expected to hit the Tampa Bay region Wednesday night. It's an area that hasn’t endured a direct hit by a major hurricane in more than a century.

Bringing destruction to areas already reeling from Hurricane Helene’s devastation less than two weeks ago.

“We have four properties on the barrier islands which are already devastated by the previous storm but this one, the storm surge will be much higher,” said former Ottawa resident Colin Trethewey.

• Tracking Hurricane Milton: Canadian travel advisory issued, Florida governor warns 'time is running out'

South of Tampa, near Sarasota, Canadians Cyndi Edwards and her husband Colin Trethewey left behind piles of debris from one of their rental properties as they left for higher ground Monday night.

“When Milton comes ashore, we’re afraid that all of that will become projectiles,” said Edwards.

As Milton makes its way from the Yucatan Peninsula towards Florida, U.S. forecasters warning of destructive waves, devastating winds and flash flooding. 

“We were not in an evacuation zone. We are zone D, but we're only five miles from the coast, so we know that the ground is already totally saturated from Helene, so there's going to be flooding. We know that for a fact,” said Trethewey.  “And when you factor that along with potentially 150 mile per hour winds, we just thought we better get the heck out of here and go inland.”

Milton is expected to grow in size and reach the west coast of Florida on Wednesday as a Category 3 storm, with wind speeds between 180 and 210 km/h.

The federal government is warning Canadians to avoid non-essential travel to Florida's coasts. A travel advisory warns Milton could disrupt transportation systems, electricity availability, water and food supply, telecommunications, emergency services and medical care.

If you are near the affected areas, be cautious, monitor local news and weather reports, and follow instructions from authorities, reads the advisory.