A British expat delivering aid to tourists stuck in hotels in Florida has said Hurricane Milton is the worst storm he has seen in 25 years.
The category 3 storm made landfall on Wednesday night with winds of over 100mph.
Phil Peachey, originally from west London, has been living in Orlando for 25 years and has been helping to deliver water and supplies to visitors left stranded due to the severe weather conditions.
“This (storm) is very much the worst I’ve ever seen,” he told the PA news agency.
“The winds this morning at around 4am… I live on a golf course and we’ve got some big trees here and I mean these trees were bending in half.”
Mr Peachey, who runs a small transport company looking after British tourists, said there has been a lack of support for holidaymakers.
“Unfortunately, things have changed since the days when tour operators had reps here looking after people,” he said.
“So really, what happens is when these poor tourists on these package holidays arrive, they have no clue of what to do in case of an emergency like this, they don’t know where to shop.
“No one tells them anything… they couldn’t buy water or anything for the kids.
“So I just loaded up the truck, went to the storeroom and bought a load of water.”
Authorities issued mandatory evacuation orders across 15 Florida counties with a total population of about 7.2 million people.
Orange County, where Mr Peachey lives, is under a state of emergency with residents told to prepare for evacuations if conditions worsen, amid an increased risk of tornadoes and up to 12 inches of rain according to the Orange County Government.
“The local government has been good for locals as we understand what’s going on and we live with this every year,” Mr Peachey explained.
“But it’s the tourists, it’s the Brits on vacation from Ireland, Scotland, England, Wales.
“They arrive and they’ve seen storms and hurricanes on the TV, but I mean, once you’re in it, stuck in a sort of budget hotel with small children, that’s scary as hell, isn’t it?
“The hotel doors are rattling and the windows are shaking – what on earth do you do? It’s terrifying.”
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