After losing their home to Helene, the residents of St. Pete decide to stay because of Hurricane Milton

WASHINGTON (TNND) — As Hurricane Milton hits Florida's Gulf Coast, many Floridians living in the storm's path have decided to hunker down and ride it out rather than evacuate.

Annie Brant and her husband moved to the St. Pete area in December 2022 and have been hit by three major storms since then. But by far the worst thing happened less than two weeks ago.

“We lost our home to Helene a week and a half ago,” Brant said.

Flooded with over three and a half feet of water, sewage and saltwater, Brant said not much remained.

“We were able to salvage some clothing and dishes and gutted the entire house,” Brant said.

As a lifelong Floridian, Brant is no stranger to weathering hurricanes. She and her husband were in Fort Myers two years ago during Hurricane Ian, a Category 5 storm. But when they saw their home destroyed, their mindset changed.

“You know everyone has that mentality. Well, it's never going to happen to them, but it can happen, and that's why I think we look at each storm a little differently now,” Brant said.

In the weeks since Helene's death, the two have been living with family near Tampa, an area that will be hard hit by Milton. But instead of leaving, they get through it.

“We have about 10 family members that are here with us and we just feel safe,” Brant said.

Brant tells us that they have hidden in this house during every storm for over 25 years without causing any damage and have never considered evacuating. But Milton started a conversation.

“I think this is the first storm in decades for my family where they said maybe we should have taken a flight on Sunday,” Brant said.

Further inland, their biggest concern is wind and falling trees, not necessarily flooding. But no matter, they are taking precautions.

“We made a last-minute decision to put up some plywood. That’s why they cover the larger windows in the back where we get more wind,” Brant said.

So for now it's a waiting game. But Brant says these back-to-back storms are taking their toll.

“I feel like since what Helene went through, we're kind of living in a time warp and just having to deal with it all over again and see the devastation, literally losing so much of what we lost,” Brant said.