SANIBEL, Fla. — Windows are boarded up, sandbags are placed and Floridians are storing as much furniture and items as possible as they brace themselves for the barreling Hurricane Milton.
Rachel Pierce, a former Local 5 anchor from 2008 to 2014, owns two homes and four businesses in Sanibel Island, Florida, a town in the direct path of Milton.
"We have all these flood barriers, all in our house, you know, boarded up, just batten down the house, put all of our outdoor furniture in the pool," Pierce said. "We just got everything off the floors, and then we left."
Now, Pierce is sheltering inland, but after experiencing multiple hurricanes, the fears are still present.
"That's my concern, after this all passes, what are we going to be left with," Pierce said. "Say, you survive the storm, you don't get hit by a tornado, you don't whatever. How are we going to get around? The roads are going to be impassable. So that's kind of my concern."
One of Pierce's four stores is an art gallery. That store was hit by Hurricane Ian, and she lost everything. This time around, Pierce is not taking any chances and is clearing out the entire store.
Another one of Pierce's stores is a home furniture store that flooded from Hurricane Helene, and its still recovering from the storm.
"We just got everything cleaned out, got the whole thing, got all the damaged furniture out," Pierce said. "We just got a new shipment of stuff in on Friday, got it all unpacked, got the store all up and running, and then we just take it all out and restart."
Pierce has lost everything before and says this storm is bringing even more concerns.
"It's all slashed billboards, then you're driving down, everything's already boarded up," Pierce said. "Already all at the rivers and retention ponds, they're all filled with water already. I mean, we're already so saturated. That's why this storm is, like, pretty scary, because we already can't take any more water."
Pierce says she feels like she has done everything she could to prepare and now its just a waiting game.
