Sarasota Mayor Liz Alpert, speaking to Newsmax on Wednesday with her city in the direct path of a blow from Hurricane Milton, urged residents to get out while there is still some time.
"While you have the chance now, get out, especially if you're on a barrier island," Alpert told "National Report." You're not going to be able to survive a 10-15 foot storm surge, because the islands will be underwater completely. That's our biggest message."
Her warnings came after a video statement from Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., also a former Florida governor, who was in Sarasota on Wednesday and urged residents to leave.
"I just got off the phone with the National Hurricane Center," Scott said. "Here's what they're saying. There's a potential of 10 to 15 feet of storm surge. You're not going to survive this. You're not going to survive 10 or 15 feet of storm surge. So get out. Evacuate now. Don't wait."
He acknowledged many people wait until the last minute, only to discover roads are flooded, power lines are down, and they can't get out.
"There's nobody that can save you in the middle of the storm," Scott said. "Here's what I ask. Take this seriously. Get out now. Evacuate [to] shelters. You can go to Floridadisaster.org. There are shelters and safe places. I want everybody to survive this storm."
Alpert, urging viewers to heed warnings to leave, also said it is important to stay out of the area once the storm ends, especially if there is standing water.
"If there's still standing water, don't go out," she said. "Wait until things clear because it's too dangerous. Have a lot of patience, because it's going to be a while. It's going to be a long recovery."
There have been reports of traffic jams and gas shortages heading out of the hurricane zone, but Alpert stressed that even though it is raining, "the conditions are not so bad that you can't get somewhere if you need to."
Sarasota County has several shelters, most of them in schools, she added, "so if you have no other place that you can go, those are a good last resort option."
Alpert said that for the most part, she is finding that residents are taking the storm surge warnings very seriously, particularly after they saw what happened with Hurricane Helene and its six-foot storm surge.
"People are not messing around and saying they want to have a hurricane party or they want to hunker down," she said. "They're realizing that this is going to be really dangerous."
She added, however, that she's finding it unbelievable that there are people posing for photos in front of waves in places like Key West.
"The people who were showing up there, especially the people with small children and posing them in front of that with these waves coming in. You know what? I don't know how to even explain that," she said.
Meanwhile, Alpert said she's spoken with several officials about the approaching storm, including Scott, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, and the offices of both the White House and Vice President Kamala Harris.
"People have been in touch with us, and we feel like we're getting everything that we need here in Sarasota," she said.
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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