Couple stuck in Florida in path of Hurricane Milton plan to 'ride it out' if disaster hits

Melissa Rutter from Bromsgrove and her partner Daniel King are currently in Orlando stuck in their hotel, waiting for a flight home on Friday.

Talking to BBC WM the couple told of their anxiety as they wait in the path of the hurricane, and the concerns from locals, less than two weeks after Hurricane Helene hit the Gulf Coast.

Melissa said they had been in Florida for two weeks but had cut short a trip to Sarasota and returned to Orlando after warnings of the approaching hurricane.

She said: "It will be two weeks on Wednesday we arrived, we spent a week up in Orlando and then we went down to Sarasota which was meant to be for a week until the news of the hurricane was coming so we decided to head back up to Orlando on Monday night."

Melissa explained how they had been preparing, after warnings over what to expect.

She said: "We are in a Hilton hotel not far from the airport. We went to the shop yesterday and stocked up on water and food because we are told we could lose some power and water."

Both Melissa and Daniel spoke of their worries over the situation – and how it has not been a case of 'business as usual' for locals used to extreme weather.

Melissa said: "I think the anxiety is kicking in. It's definitely kicking in quite a bit now."

Daniel added: "I think the main thing is usually the locals are very proactive, which they are still being, obviously they are getting the hurricane shutters up, but I've been to Florida a few times now and through a few different bigger hurricanes but this is the only time when everybody locally seems to be very very worried about it.

"I think the impact of having Hurricane Helene less than two weeks ago and still recovering from that, and this is just going to compound it, all the damage that was caused then."

Melissa explained that they are hoping to get back on Friday – but that depends on what happens.

She said: "We were due to fly out on Wednesday afternoon but that has now been cancelled. We have managed to get onto a flight on Friday evening but obviously that could potentially be cancelled as well depending on the damage to the area and the airport and if power is back up, and it's just all sort of we don't really know what's going on at the moment."

Melissa said that although they are worried, they have prepared, and are hopeful the hotel building stands up to the impact of the hurricane.

She said: "We've kind of made a plan, because Dan's parents are out here as well with us, so we have just said we will drag a mattress into the bathroom if needs be and ride it out in there.

"The building itself is quite sturdy so I am guessing there won't be much damage hopefully."