Hundreds of Saint Lucians were among millions evacuating parts of the state of Florida on Tuesday, pending the arrival of hurricane Milton Wednesday evening.
Thirteen Florida counties, including Tampa and Orlando, are under mandatory evacuation before Milton’s arrival, while seven others are under voluntary evacuation.
United States officials have warned about the potentially life-threatening impacts of the hurricane.
One Saint Lucian family that St. Lucia Times spoke with Wednesday said they had endured an over five-hour drive from Tampa to Georgia on Tuesday and were hoping for the best.
We also reached out to Darrel Montrose, Saint Lucia’s Consul General in Miami, whose Coral Gables office in Florida remained closed Wednesday.
“We do have a sizeable Saint Lucian population in Tampa and Orlando, the areas expected to feel the full wrath of the hurricane. Further south we are expected to get lots of rain, even if we may not have the full force of the wind,” Montrope said.
“So we have asked everyone to take the necessary precautions and to obey the mandatory evacuation calls if you are in any of the areas that will be in the direct path of Milton,” he added.
Montrope described Florida as a flat expanse of land mass and compared some of the highest points to Morne Fortune in Saint Lucia. “So we are very much aware of what the impact of such a hurricane can feel like,” he said.
To this end, the Saint Lucia Consul General disclosed that he is in dialogue with the Caribbean Consular Corp and the Miami Consular Corp, who are on guard to provide the necessary support.
“We have been mobilising our efforts to protect each other’s interest and we stand ready to assist if there is any eventuality,” Montrope told St. Lucia Times.
The Saint Lucia diplomat had originally scheduled a meet and greet with Saint Lucia’s sprint sensation Julien Alfred for Wednesday October 9.
The activity, which was to take place at the Hallandale High School, has been postponed.
Saint Lucia carnival was also scheduled to be launched in Miami on Thursday October 10 and that too has been postponed.
However, the 40th anniversary of Miami Carnival is still on according to organisers, despite travel concerns due to the hurricane.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) expects Milton to make landfall as an “extremely dangerous major hurricane” late on Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.
Forecasters are warning of torrential rain, flash flooding, high winds, and possible storm surges.
