Influencer living in direct path of Hurricane Milton speaks out after refusing to evacuate
After government officials issued an urgent warning for mid-Florida locals to leave their homes, one influencer fighting to survive has issued an explanation as to why she decided to stay in her home.
Caroline Calloway - known for her social media presence - revealed earlier this week that, though she resided in the 'direct line' of the life-threatening storm, she wouldn't give in.
Milton has been described by experts as the 'deadliest' and most 'catastrophic' storm to hit the state in 100 years.
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Naturally, therefore, residents of America's east coast were strongly urged to flee their homes in a bid for safety in order to avoid the 165 mph winds.
And while many residents have since revealed they were unable to evacuate due to a number of issues - including the likes of health or finance issues, as well as genuine time constraints - one TikTok star and best-selling author previously said she'd be remaining in her 'mandatory evacuation zone' home for another reason entirely.
Now, speaking to People, the 32-year-old insists she has no intention of changing her plan, despite the concern her admission has garnered from her colossal online following.
Claiming her fans have less reason to be worried than they may have initially believed, Caroline revealed that her Sarasota beachfront home isn't on the ground floor, as many originally believed.
"I don't know who started the rumor that I live on the ground floor, but that is not true," she told the publication.
"I live three stories up in a building with hurricane grade windows and three-foot thick concrete walls."
She went on to insist that, despite the storm predicted to surge to around 20ft high in the coming days, it was unlikely to reach her third-storey complex.
"The building's never flooded before," Caroline added.
Earlier this week, the social media star controversial recorded a video of herself saying: "So if you’ve been following Hurricane Milton, um, I’m going to die.
"It’s supposed to make landfall in the Sarasota-Bradenton area. I’m in Sarasota, I live on the water. It’s a zone A, mandatory evacuation."
The online sensation previously divulged her reasoning for remaining at home despite the imminent risk of death.
She explained that, back in 2022, when the lesser Hurricane Jan hit her home region, she fled to her mother's nearby property, but ended up being 'worse off'.
"I went to a private home that was one story with thinner walls and a more easily disrupted roof," she added, revealing that her family went three days without water or electricity before the U.S. military had to rescue them.
"To this day, I still don't know if it was just drunk Floridians exercising their Second Amendment right on a homemade shooting range in their backyard, or if it was looting or something more sinister.
"Especially when you know you can't call the police, there's really no civil infrastructure in place. It was very scary."
She added, however, that the fact she can't drive also influenced her decision to stay, and insisted she wanted to be available to help her elderly neighbours if they're in a time of need.
"There are a few more sort of able-bodied young people who are staying to help, but I'm definitely the youngest and the most able-bodied among them," she told the news outlet.
"One of those three reasons alone wouldn't have been enough to sway me, maybe not even two. But all three combined really made me want to decide to stay."
Topics: Instagram, News, TikTok, US News, Weather, World News, Hurricane Milton
Rhianna Benson