Troy LaRue texts a friend while leaning on a wall near a sign pleading for mercy from Hurricane Milton. He is at the Gator Club in downtown Sarasota on Monday. The restaurant LaRue planned on meeting that was closed due to the coming storm, so they had to find another place to meet.
A mandatory evacuation sign sits at the base of the Fort Myers Beach bridge on Fort Myers Beach in anticipation of Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024. Fort Myers Beach and Sanibel were under mandatory evacuation orders.
Individuals line up to get into the evacuation shelter at Booker High School Tuesday morning in Sarasota in advance of the arrival of Hurricane Milton.
Employees with Home Depot on Cattlemen Rd. in Sarasota, load sheets of plywood in a cart for customers Monday afternoon as residents prepare for the arrival of Hurricane Milton
Ernesto Mendoza assists his neighbor Ken Lovejoy in installing storm shutters. Cape Coral residents were busy Monday, October 7, 2024, as they made arrangements and gathered supplies in preparation for the potential impact of Hurricane Milton later this week.
John Gaddes of Palm Coast fills up gas cans at RaceTrac at State Road 100 and Old Kings Road on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, as the area prepares for Hurricane Milton’s after effects.
A home on Avenida Del Mayo is boarded up in preparation for Hurricane Milton on Monday, Oct. 7, 2024, but the owners, like many others on Siesta Key, are still dealing with piles of debris from Hurricane Helene.
Eli Perez, 2, of Stuart, helps his mother fill a bag with sand at the Sailfish Ball Park distribution site Monday in Stuart. Hurricane Milton has been forecast to be a Category 3 storm with Wednesday landfall likely somewhere near Sarasota with a north-northeastward path crossing the state south of Orlando and north of Melbourne.