TAMPA, Fla — At a high school evacuation center in Tampa, Florida, Bill Brotherton, feeling frustrated, has decided to stay through Hurricane Milton. With his eclectus parrot Mikey resting on his shoulder, Brotherton recounted how Hurricane Helene flooded his home with four feet of seawater.

Since then, he has been sleeping in his car. “It’s so overwhelming I can barely talk. I can’t think. I can’t remember how to spell. My chest hurts,” he said, fighting back tears. “When I fall asleep, I wish I wouldn’t wake up, but I keep waking up.”

Brotherton is just one of many Floridians trying to recover from Helene – clearing out soaked furniture, dismantling damaged walls, and contacting their flood insurance companies – when they were suddenly faced with Hurricane Milton approaching, forcing them to stop everything and secure their homes once again.

Debris and ruined household items, including sofas, bed frames, and refrigerators, still clutter the streets of many coastal neighborhoods. As residents evacuate in large numbers, they face uncertainty about whether they will have homes to return to.

“We had 4 feet of flooding from the last storm,” said Tampa resident Scott Heidt, whose mother’s house was affected by Helene. “If we face 12 feet with this one, we’re done for.”

This Monday, Milton rapidly escalated into a category 5 hurricane, with winds reaching 180 mph at one point. Although the storm is predicted to weaken as it nears Florida’s western coastline, it is still likely to impact the Gulf Coast as a major hurricane. The storm’s significant strength has led to urgent warnings from officials.

“I can say without exaggeration that if you choose to remain in one of those evacuation zones, you could lose your life,” warned Tampa Mayor Jane Castor during a CNN interview on Monday.

From Preparation to Recovery and Back Again: ‘We’re Just Tired’

Elasa Tiernan has spent the last ten days focused on repairing her home. That is, until she learned about Milton.

“I was planning to squeegee water out today, but with this looming, we’ve basically had to give up,” said Tiernan, whose residence in Crystal Beach, a coastal area in Palm Harbor, experienced two feet of storm surge from Helene.

After the storm moved north and began impacting other Southeastern states, Tiernan’s husband, who is now bedridden with breathing issues potentially linked to mold exposure, had to dispose of water-soaked furniture and demolish walls and cabinets.

Many of her neighbors faced similar challenges during Helene, with streets now crowded with heaps of debris taller than she is.

On Monday, Tiernan secured her doors, turned off the power supply, and left for her aunt’s home in Tarpon Springs, where she plans to shelter with her husband and teenage daughter.

“I’m determined to ensure we have everything we need. I guess I’m a survivalist,” Tiernan said. “As a mom of a 14-year-old, I can’t afford to sit around contemplating other options.”

In St. Pete Beach, David Green was gearing up to meet with an electrician to get an estimate of damages for his home, which Hurricane Helene had flooded with 3.5 feet of water. Instead, he rented a truck from Home Depot and filled it with plywood to board up the windows of his vacant property. He plans to finish the work by Monday evening and wait out the storm at his daughter’s residence in Ruskin while postponing his appointment with his flood insurance agent.

“We’re just so worn out,” said Green, age 62.

Back-to-Back Storms Leave Dunedin Resident Feeling ‘Completely Overwhelmed’

Suzanne Vale and her husband, who possess homes in both western North Carolina and Gulf Coast Florida, say they feel tormented by storms.

Last month, they left their home in Burnsville, a mountainous town near Asheville, and traveled to their residence in Dunedin, Florida, to prepare for Helene. However, after Helene made landfall, it was their North Carolina home that sustained damage, with a tree falling on their roof and a hillside collapsing.

With Hurricane Milton looming over Florida, a couple has taken action to secure their home in Dunedin, located just three blocks from the Gulf of Mexico. They’ve also consulted geotechnical engineers regarding damage to their home in Burnsville.

“I feel completely overwhelmed,” said Vale in an interview with YSL News. “It’s like God is testing my patience.”

Debris and furniture from homes affected by Hurricane Helene still cover much of Dunedin. As residents scramble to buy supplies like gas and water, there is a noticeable atmosphere of anxiety and distress, according to Vale, a retired nurse.

On Tuesday, the couple plans to complete their preparations before heading to a friend’s condominium in eastern Pinellas County. Although they still have electricity, they will continue to reach out to get the foundation of their North Carolina residence inspected and, hopefully, reinforced.

“We bought the place up there to have a safe spot if we lost our home in Florida,” Vale explained. “Now, we face the possibility of losing both.”

‘If we get 12 feet from this one, we’re toast’

Nancy Heidt, age 80, observed from her home near the Tampa Bay Marina as her son worked to clear away remnants left by Hurricane Helene. The storm had sent floodwaters into her one-story house, destroying nearly everything except for the kitchen and living room’s tile floor.

Workers have already removed several feet of drywall throughout the home to prevent the spread of black mold, which thrives in the humid aftermath of hurricanes. A large dumpster filled with drywall scraps, discarded food, and broken appliances stood in the driveway.

Heidt mentioned she has lived in her home for 50 years and, despite experiencing many hurricanes, considers Helene the worst she has faced. With Milton expected to be even more intense, she worries. She doesn’t have flood insurance but is grateful her late husband prepared her financially for such situations. Heidt plans to stay with her son in nearby Brandon, sharing a room with her granddaughter. She remains hopeful that Milton will be less severe than expected. “I’ve survived cancer. I coped with a broken hip,” she declared. “I keep fighting.”