METRO AIRPORT (WXYZ) — In a little more than 24 hours, Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall - taking aim at Florida’s western coast. The category 4 storm is anticipated to be one of the worst hurricanes to hit the state in a century.
As families work to get to safety, both Tampa International and St. Petersburg/Clearwater International airports are closed, with Orlando International set to close at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday.
Several flights are coming from Florida to Detroit Metro Airport as families try to get out ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall making for a hectic day.
"Once we tried to look for flights even on Sunday night they were starting to fill up," says Whitney Herr of Ortonville. "I was starting to get pretty nervous that we weren’t going to be able to get back home and would have to ride out the storm in Orlando."
Herr says she and her family were in Tampa visiting her husband's grandfather before having to drive to Orlando to find a flight.
"We were there for my husband's grandpa's 103rd birthday. So he was there in a nursing home. They had to evacuate the entire nursing home. So it was a mixed feeling that we want to be here for his birthday and celebrate but I also want to make sure I get my kids home and everybody is safe," said Herr.
As panic begins to settle in down south, families are shipping out as fast as they can.
"At the airport, all of the parking was near capacity," says Blake Kasparian of Commerce Township. "It was kind of a little bit of chaos in the terminal. Everybody’s scrambling to get flights. Even my flight - the standby list, usually there’s maybe a handful of people. The standby list was, like, 3 pages long."
Kasparian says he's currently studying to become a pilot at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach. He flew in from Orlando on Tuesday. This is now his 5th storm.
"I knew it was going to be bad. Part of what I study is weather, so, I could just tell by the trends that it was getting worse. So I decided to make the call to come home," said Kasparian. "I’m up here for the week hoping when I get back down there, the damage isn’t too bad."
Mike Ishmail and his family were also in the airport Tuesday afternoon after flying in from Florida. The family says they just moved from metro Detroit to the Sarasota area six months ago.
"This is our first hurricane. We’re not taking a chance," says Mike Ishmail. "We’re just going to come down here, visit family, and send our prayers back because I hope everybody’s okay. We have friends there."
"We’re new and I was reading a lot of comments on Facebook about moms saying how during Hurricane Ian the roars in the house are very scary and imagine being in the dark," says Nadeen Hasan as she stood next to her husband Ishmail and their two children.
While some families were fortunate to evacuate, others have been forced the hunker down and ride things out.
"It’s devastating. I don’t know what to do," says Audra Taylor. "I don’t know what to say besides to keep faith in the good Lord above."
Taylor says she will be watching the storm closely from New Boston as her husband, who is traveling for work, tries to evacuate to Georgia. Taylor says several family members are also stuck in Florida without a way out including her grandparents in Sebring about an hour and a half from Sarasota.
"I’m very close with my granny and my grandpa too. I call them every day. I haven’t seen them in almost 6 years but I call them every day because you don’t know when that last phone call’s gonna be," she says.
As families pray for as little harm as possible, they’re making the most out of a scary situation.
