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Floridians who refused to follow evacuation orders despite living in the path of Hurricane Milton were told to write their names on their arms in permanent marker so that their bodies could be identified if they were killed.
Millions of residents were instructed to leave their homes ahead of Milton making landfall Wednesday night along Florida’s west-central coast as a devastating Category 3 hurricane.
But those who failed to heed advice were issued a harrowing warning and were told to mark their limbs with their personal details to help officials identify their remains.
“If you choose to stay, find yourself a permanent marker,” Charlotte County Sheriff Bill Prummell said at a press conference.
“Write your name, your date of birth, and your next of kin on your arm, so we know who you are and who to contact.”
He concluded: “This is no joke.”
Florida’s Attorney General Ashley Moody also echoed this plan.
During a Wednesday press briefing, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis warned those holding their ground that “if you get 10ft of storm surge, you can’t just hunker down with that. Mother Nature is going to win that fight.”
He later added: “Unfortunately there will be fatalities when you have storm surge that will be 10ft.”
Despite being issued mandatory evacuation orders, some locals thought remained steadfast that they could weather the “catastrophic” storm.
“We’re hurricane chasers!” Dave Carroll from Vilano Beach, St Johns County, told Action News Jax on Wednesday before the storm made landfall.
“This area is prepped for it, and so I think it’ll be, the main thing is the flooding. Our house has never flooded here and we’re not in a flood zone.”
It is not clear what happened to Carroll or his property.
Officials are expecting the worst for some who failed to the flee Milton.
“What we’ll probably be finding in the morning are bodies...it’s bleak in some of these areas,” Chief of the Bradenton Police Department Melanie Bevan told BBC Radio 4’s Today program on Thursday.
“Multiple deaths” have already been confirmed in Florida as a result of Milton after dozens of tornadoes spawned in St Lucie County, according to County Sheriff Keith Pearson.
One of those tornadoes struck Spanish Lakes Country Club, a 330-acre 55-plus retirement village in Fort Pierce, killing several occupants, he added.
It is too early for the extent of the damage to become fully clear but, so far, a large crane was downed in St Petersburg and the roof of Tropicana Field, home to the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team, was torn off by Milton’s ferocious winds.
More than three million homes and businesses in Florida are currently without power as of Thursday morning, with those in the west-central region the worst impacted as 28ft waves battered shorelines and brought up to 12ft of storm surge.
