Luxembourgish journalist flees Hurricane Milton

Even before making landfall, Hurricane Milton spawned tornadoes across the state of Florida. As of Thursday afternoon, there were reports of deaths, injuries, floods and power outages, as well as significant material damage.

The tropical cyclone has since been downgraded from Category 3 to Category 1. However, local authorities remain on high alert, and Florida continues to be in a state of emergency.

RTL's Pit Everling was able to make contact with Luxembourgish journalist Eric Hamus, editor-in-chief of Revue, who is currently travelling through the American south.

Over the past few days, Hamus, who had been spending time in Florida as a tourist, was forced to flee across state borders to Georgia, where he is currently out of the danger zone. Although the weather is wet and stormy, he says things are going well.

"This area has a tropical storm warning now, not a hurricane warning. So over the last couple of days, when I was trying to leave Florida, there was a lot of rain brought on by Milton, and lots of traffic everywhere as people were trying to stock up. All the supermarkets were cleared of bread, for example, and torches."

Hamus landed in Orlando on Monday, just as Hurricane Milton became a matter of concern.

"I had a few days' warning so I had to organise quickly to evacuate. After a time, the roads were going to be closed and there were warnings of potential weeks without any power. So I tried to hire a car, but my reservation was cancelled as the airport closed. Then I tried to hire a vehicle somewhere else, which meant I had to queue for about 2-3 hours, and it was more expensive."

Surge pricing in the middle of a storm

Hamus said something that shocked him was the number of places that tried to profit from the situation to boost their intake.

"They're in the process of raising prices here, which is a scam in itself, I have to say. Along the whole evacuation corridor, so the main road along the east coast, all the hotels have sold out the last few days. I compared some prices, they're now asking for €800 a night when the usual price is €100-€120."

People living in the area were already nervous after the battering from another recent hurricane turned tropical storm, 'Helene'. However, Hamus noticed that residents were prepared and knew what routine to follow for the emergency on hand.

The authorities started calling for evacuations early on and ensured a widespread information campaign. Warnings were sent via mobile phone networks. In terms of public information, Hamus said they did not shy away from the severity of the situation.

"In Tampa Bay, which was going to be hit the hardest, people said: if you stay here, you'll die. People were told to write their names on their arms in permanent marker to identify their bodies later. They really hit home with such blunt messaging."

Hamus said he wasn't afraid, but he was nervous while he did not have a car on hand.

"Without a car you're really stuck. But I had back-up options, I found a place in Orlando where I could hunker down if I needed to. I was able to buy food in supermarkets, although the queues were heavy. Fear? Not really, more respect. Respect and nervousness."

Hamus will now continue his US trip northwards.