‘We’re worried we won’t have a home to come back to’ neighbors in Punta Gorda brace for Milton

As neighbors in Harbor Belle RV Resort prepare to evacuate as they’re in a mandatory evacuation zone in Charlotte County, many of them are asking themselves if they will have a home to come back to after Hurricane Milton.

“We know we’re going to flood; you know? We listened to the news station and to Matt [Devitt],” Dorothy Thompson said.

“What’s going to be left, if there’s anything left,” said Trina Haskell

“I think the whole park may be wiped out,” Alisia Miller said.

For now, these neighbors who are a part of the 416,000 residents living in Zones A and B in Lee County are preparing for Milton, and what preparation looks like here is lifting up any and everything you plan to salvage.

“We’ve put up everything that we can. I’ve got garbage bags on important things. I have a whole bundle of things we’re going to take with us. We’re going to a hotel, and most of it’s in water bags and Ziploc bags. The inside of my house, I put everything I can on top of the bed and on top of the couch, and took drawers out, and you just, we’re just going to hope for the best,” Thompson said.

These neighbors lost everything in previous storms and saw flooding in their homes during Helene, so they’re prepared for the worst now.

“A lot of people already lost everything. You know, personals, heirlooms from our grandparents, her house, my house, it’s just, it’s screwed up,” Haskell said.

“I can’t move back into my house. Totally destroyed. It’s bad. I lost my home,” Miller said.

Some neighbors in Harbor Belle said farewell to their homes, even before the storm.

“We’ve had a lot of people pack up and leave. They’re done with it, you know, getting to these two whammies alone. Plus, it seems like every two years we flood in here, you know, we’re right on the inlet, so we expect it.”

Shelters are open, and Lee Tran is waiving the fee for rides. Just go to a Lee Tran stop and ask to be taken to a shelter.