Sawt Falasteen - Florida seaside haven a ghost town as hurricane nears

The town of 57,000 people sits on a bay connected to the Gulf of Mexico and in normal times its prime location is a lure for visitors.

But these are anything but normal times: Hurricane Helene hit Florida two weeks ago, doing major damage, and next comes Milton -- a monstrous storm packing 130 mph winds and potential for a coastal surge of 15 feet (4.5 meters).

Sarasota is one of many cities and towns along the west coast of Florida that are girding for Milton, which is expected to make landfall overnight Wednesday into Thursday.

Brad Reeves, a 55-year-old building inspector, took a walk along the bay in the morning to have one last look before hunkering down in his apartment, in a modern building several miles from the coast.

"This situation really rattles your nerves," Reeves told AFP.

"You have moments where you're excited, moments where you're scared, moments where you just can't sleep. Everything is just topsy-turvy."

Out in the bay, a boat that crashed into the pier of a seaside restaurant less than two weeks ago during Hurricane Helene is still stuck there.

- 'Adds insult to injury' –

Also taking a walk along the water as steady rain falls were 60-year-old Marilyn Borisk and her chihuahua Nemo.

Borisk lives in an apartment in an area that is under an evacuation order but she has decided to stay put, saying she trusts her building, constructed to withstand hurricane force winds, will be sturdy enough.

"It's extremely upsetting for this community. It's a very beautiful, special place, and it's been destroyed with Helene," she said

"Everyone knows someone that's lost a house in the last storm, so it definitely adds insult to injury."

Others in Sarasota are rushing to try to protect their property the best they can from the catastrophic damage that Milton is expected to inflict.

Phil Davies, a 36-year-old real estate agent, shovels sand into bags and dumps them in the trunk of his car. He will stack them outside his house.

"I am just going to hunker down and get ready for this," said Davies. "It will be a rough night. We'll make it through and rebuild what needs to be rebuilt, and we'll be okay."

- Hotel as shelter -

In the city center one of the few hotels that remain open has been turned into a shelter for people who do not want to leave town but do not feel safe in their homes.

Dozens of people -- young, elderly, families with kids -- walked up and down the corridors of the hotel with their belongings stacked on carts.

Many of them brought their dogs and took them out of the hotel for walks.

"We could not leave our pet alone. It must always be with us," Samuel Urzua, a 53-year-old chef, said of his dog, Bombon.

"You feel safer here. There are trees that could fall onto the roof of my house so I came here with some friends and relatives," said Urzua.

- 'It's scary, man' -

Milton is threatening much of the west coast of Florida and many people have sought refuge far from the Gulf of Mexico.

In Orlando, in central Florida, people are afraid of flooding, just two years after Hurricane Ian deluged them with water.

"Ian was a really big eye-opener for us," said Brandon Allen, a water rescue official preparing to deploy to areas at risk of flooding.

"As Ian showed, all things can go out the window," in huge storms like this, Allen said.

On the outskirts of Orlando, home to Disney World, dozens of people have taken refuge at a high school as they await the arrival of Milton.

"It's scary, man," said Nour Jeboki, 34, who brought his wife and kids to the shelter.

He lived in Texas 20 years ago and lost everything in a hurricane. This time he was determined to find some place safe to weather Milton.

Jeboki said he is praying for the best. "This one here, I'm nervous," he said.

Z.AlNajjar--SF-PST