‘Armageddon’: Aussie expats opens up about Hurricane Milton

A Sydney man is among Aussies caught up in “the storm of the century”, who have revealed what it’s like as Hurricane Milton wreaks havoc on Florida.

Exclusive: Australian expats in Florida have told of the ferocious power of Hurricane Milton as the storm crashed into the state, leaving them fearing the damage they would find once it passed.

Deborah Belcher was bunkered down in Clearwater on Florida’s west coast, just north of where what US President Joe Biden said loomed as “the storm of the century” made landfall.

“It’s terrifying. They’re saying the winds in my area are 90 miles an hour (144km/h),” she said.

“There’s trees down in the backyard, there’s huge branches down. I don’t even want to go out in the front yard … I’m too scared to even go out there for fear that the road is flooded.”

Australian expat Deborah Belcher says she is “scared stiff”. Picture: Facebook

Belcher has decided to stay put in her home. Picture: Facebook

The beauty salon owner – who moved to Florida from Perth in 1984 – said she decided to stay put with her three dogs as the hurricane roared towards her home about 2.8km from the Gulf of Mexico.

“I’m scared stiff at this point,” Ms Belcher said.

“I’ve been in this house for less than a year. I’m as protected as what I think I can be. I know I’m not in an evacuation zone. If the water comes up more than 15 feet (4.5m), then I’m screwed.”

As local authorities waited for the storm to pass before sending out search-and-rescue teams and assessing the damage, Clearwater City Manager Jennifer Poirrier told NBC News she was “planning for a worst-case scenario which is devastating”.

Matthew Leyshon, from Sydney, said he evacuated with his wife and two children from their home near the water in South Tampa to his in-laws’ home further inland.

“This one has definitely spooked most people. A lot of people have evacuated. I usually stay home,” he said, having experienced four major hurricanes in his first year in Florida in 2004.

“We’re hardly livin’ la vida loca, but we’ve got our food and everything like that. We’ve just lost power but we had a tonne of torches and lanterns … Hopefully the power will come back on pretty soon, but so far we’re okay.”

Australian ex-pat Matthew Leyshon, with his wife Susan and kids Reece and Charlotte. Supplied

Milton had initially been set to make landfall in Tampa but shifted south as it neared the coastline, sparing the city a storm surge of up to 4.5m.

“Now it’s only going to be about six feet (1.8m),” Mr Leyshon said.

But he said his community was “basically screwed” because of the debris that collected in the wake of Hurricane Helene a fortnight ago.

“Usually it’s just trees and branches … but you drive a few blocks from our house, and people have got a quarter of their house on their front yard, ruined furniture and stuff like that,” he said.

“Because it hasn’t been collected, shit is going to be blown everywhere. Some of the streets are going to look like armageddon.”

Originally published as ‘Armageddon’: Aussie expats opens up about Hurricane Milton