SARASOTA, Fla. — As Hurricane Milton makes landfall on the west coast of Florida, thousands have evacuated their homes or finalized their plans to hunker down in a safe space, like 6 News' Baylee Bates' family.
There are a lot of elements that go into preparing for a major storm that could be life threatening. The Arthur family decided it was best to weather out the storm as it makes landfall as a Category 3.
The Arthurs live in the Sarasota area, but their home was not in an evacuation zone. That's because they live 10 miles away from the Gulf of Mexico and are not in a flood zone.
After many discussions amongst themselves, the Arthurs thought it was safest and in their best interest to stay in their secure home.
"Sometimes those that don't have a safer place to be, it makes more sense to allow them to get the gas, to be able to be on the road, to be able to get to safer places and ground and family, other states where we have the benefit of being able to hunker down more safely than many people here in our local area," said Mandi Arthur, Bates' great-aunt's daughter-in-law. "You kind of take the pros and cons, and you weigh the good and the bad with all of that and we decided that yes, this is scary and it's not to take lightly, but we've gotten all of our supplies."
Mandi Arthur said the cars are filled up with gas, flashlights are in bedrooms and they have extra batteries and other emergency items if necessary. They also have stocked up on food and water, filled a bathtub to be able to flush toilets and also have a generator in case the power does go out.
In a 7:30 p.m. ET update, Mandi Arthur had reported the wind was whipping and the power was flickering. The power had gone out for a short bit, too, she said.
Mandi Arthur said some of the factors in them staying at their home through the storm include having underground utilities and a gas stove, and more importantly, the construction of their home.
"Everything we've done with our physical structure with the metal roof this last year and a half, to have that, which has better chances of wind, so, you just do the normal Florida hurricane preparation," Arthur said. "We have everything that we can at this point and if we're uncomfortable with no power, then so be it, but as long as that roof stays on, we're gonna be alright."
Mandi Arthur and her husband, Tommy, picked up his mom, Susan Arthur, so she wouldn't be alone at her place in Venice, FL. Susan Arthur is Baylee's great-aunt.
Susan Arthur had lost her home's roof in a hurricane a couple years ago. She knows how powerful the storms can be, but is happy to be surrounded by family for Hurricane Milton.
"Like Mandy explained, their home is a good, safe home," Susan Arthur said. "When you go to a shelter, you have to take all your own bedding and food and there's nothing for the kids to do. It's very hard. I mean, if we lived in a much older home and we didn't feel safe, then we would have had to make some different plans, but after discussing it, we decided that this was our safe bet."
Hurricane Milton comes just shy of two weeks after Hurricane Helene created storm surge for the west coast of Florida. Susan Arthur said there is still a lot of damage remaining that's creating other issues for Florida residents.
"People still have all the debris at the roadside because they haven't had time to pick it up everywhere, so they're telling you 'Don't, you need to evacuate and get out or you're gonna get stuck on your street,'" Susan Arthur explained. "The officials are not gonna be able to get to you because they have to work more on emergency situations, not for someone who decided to stay back."
Some have described Hurricane Milton as the worse storm for the area in 100 years. Mandi Arthur said it should be taken seriously.
"When you hear those words, it's certainly not something to take lightly," Arthur said. "I think the biggest thing, if we can just get those prayers for safety and this thing moves quickly across the state and into the Atlantic -- that is wonderful."