Safe From Hurricane Milton.
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (121581)
Gainesville, Florida
October 10, 2024 6:43am CST
Many people have been messaging me and asking if I’m okay. Just wanted to let everyone know that I am safe. Where I live in Florida was just outside of—and north of—where the hurricane made landfall. Surprisingly, we felt very little effects of the storm.
It’s still early morning following the exit of the storm, so reports on the extent of the damage won’t start flowing in until after daylight when crews can start getting out there and helping people. I imagine the storm surge caused a lot of devastation along the coastal areas. Thankfully, I live well inland.
Thank you to all of you who reached out to me over the past few days to check on me. Your love and compassion have been greatly felt.
31 people like this
31 responses
@LadyDuck (471494)
• Switzerland
11 Oct
@moffittjc - I am so glad it was not as bad as they predicted.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
Thank you Anna. I was fully prepared and ready for this massive storm, and thankfully it didn’t hit the area where I live.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@LadyDuck If it would have hit us as a Cat-5 instead of a Cat-3, I probably wouldn’t be talking to you right now.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Oct
Thanks Jim. I’ll do my best to keep staying safe and well.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@porwest But I’m not very good at it. I tend to get myself in trouble too much. Lol
1 person likes this
@dodo19 (47317)
• Beaconsfield, Quebec
11 Oct
@moffittjc I can definitely imagine. Hopefully it opens up sooner so you can enjoy it.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Oct
@dodo19 I was able to visit Magic Kingdom last Friday night, and Epcot this past Monday night, and Disney did an excellent job of getting everything cleaned up and back to normal for guests.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
I need a vacation after all this! I was thinking about going to Disney World, but they say the theme parks might not open back up until Sunday.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (106192)
• Marion, Ohio
10 Oct
Was thinking of you and glad you are all safe.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@wolfgirl569 Not quite as large as Helene in terms of overall size, but Milton sure packed a punch.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Oct
Thank you. We have a lot of evacuees here in our city who are waiting to see or hear about the level of devastation. I’m sure the authorities still have all the highways and interstates closed off until they can make sure it’s safe.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
Thank you. It’s always a good feeling when the storm passes and you can breathe a big sigh of relief that you made it.
2 people like this
@TheHorse (218781)
• Walnut Creek, California
11 Oct
@moffittjc Storm? We need a storm!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
It came ashore about 10 miles farther south than they had predicted. That 10 miles was our saving grace where I live. Had it nudged a little more north we would have had much more serious weather, along with destruction.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@TheHorse unfortunately, no. They were not in the danger zone.
@FourWalls (67977)
• United States
10 Oct
Great to hear from you, so thankful you’re safe from both of those monsters. 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Oct
In the case of those in the Carolinas that were completely caught by surprise of the magnitude of the rain and flooding, the people of Sarasota and Tampa knew this was going to be bad and got out. We have thousands of evacuees here in Gainesville. Every hotel is booked solid.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Oct
Thank you Marie. I hate to see that your beloved Tampa area is devastated.
1 person likes this
@Marilynda1225 (82777)
• United States
10 Oct
So glad to hear you're okay Jeff. What I've been seeing on the news is heartbreaking. Tornadoes and a hurricane is crazy.
2 people like this
@Marilynda1225 (82777)
• United States
11 Oct
@moffittjc it certainly was unbelievable seeing it all on the news. So sad for everyone who lost so much
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@Marilynda1225 We were watching the news all day yesterday and the destruction was just unbelievable. So disheartening.
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
It seems like the worst of the destruction was from all the tornadoes that spawned from the hurricane. I’ve never seen so many massive tornadoes in a hurricane before.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (44524)
• Staten Island, New York
10 Oct
Good that you’re okay. Were you required to evacuate?
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
Where I live was not in an evacuation zone. In fact, we were hosting evacuees in our community, as well as first responders and linemen.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@TheHorse Maybe these people I see are all second responders then?
@TheHorse (218781)
• Walnut Creek, California
11 Oct
@moffittjc But Trump said there were no first responders. And all of the FEMA money went to Harris's campaign. 
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Oct
Thank you. We dodged a bullet. We were saved by a cold front that pushed through our area that kept the storm just south of us.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (178568)
• United States
11 Oct
I'm so glad you are safe. I saw that the storm was south of you. There were parts of Florida that received an unbelievable 18" of rain. Horrible. Have a good weekend.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
It’s unbelievable how a storm that moved through so quickly dropped so much rain. And the other unusual thing about this one was the number of massive tornadoes it spawned. So much devastation on every level.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Oct
@LindaOHio The silver lining in these two hurricanes is that they sucked down some cold weather from up north. It’s been so nice and cool here all week long. I love it!
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (178568)
• United States
11 Oct
@moffittjc Yes. I hope the storms are done for now.
1 person likes this
@2ndchances24 (8906)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
10 Oct
So you dodged another hurricane, you have a good place to HUNKER DOWN & RIDE IT OUT
Thank God you have a safe haven where you can stay safe from bad weather.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
I was prepared to evacuate if necessary, but thankfully didn’t have to do so.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Oct
@2ndchances24 Thank you. I thank God that our area was spared.
1 person likes this
@2ndchances24 (8906)
• Cloverdale, Indiana
11 Oct
@moffittjc Thank god for that, I'm sure glad your all
was spared & nothing bad happened.
1 person likes this
@somewitch (1387)
•
10 Oct
Glad to hear you're safe over there, up north.
It's crazy how many devastating storms Florida has been hit with lately. 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@somewitch it was horrible. And during that time I had a 2-year old and an infant to worry about. It was pretty scary.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
10 Oct
It’s still not as bad as the 4 storms I suffered through in 2004. Direct hits from hurricanes Bonnie, Charlie, Francis and Jean. It took years to clean up from those storms.
2 people like this
@somewitch (1387)
•
10 Oct
@moffittjc Wow! 
I can't even imagine what it must have been like.
I can't even imagine what it must have been like.2 people like this
@marguicha (222968)
• Chile
10 Oct
I´m very glad that you are okay. But worried about all the people who have lost all they have and some even their lives.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (222968)
• Chile
11 Oct
@moffittjc Some people just don´t listen to reason until something terrible happens.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Oct
@marguicha I agree. People try to rationalize their bad decision-making skills. Until something bad happens.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (222968)
• Chile
18 Oct
@moffittjc Usually the government (at least in my country) has different color warnings. And while they cannot force anyone to move, it stands to reason that they should. Here we don´t have hurricanes but we can get tsunamis and problems with volcanos.
!@much2say (55601)
• Los Angeles, California
13 Oct
@moffittjc I take it you've been through enough of these kinds of storms that you can sense things just by stepping outside. I'm relieved it didn't hit your area, but it's sad for the folks in other areas that didn't fare well.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
I kept having this uneasy feeling that this storm track would continue inching north and hit my area, but on the day the storm was scheduled to hit, I walked outside to very cool air, meaning the cold front pushed through. I knew we would be safe at that point because the hurricane would stay south of the frontal boundary.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Oct
@much2say I've been through more than my fair share of these storms. If I've learned anything from them, it's that they have a mind of their own, and no matter how technologically advanced our weather forecasting systems get, they can't (and won't) always get the trajectory correct on these storm systems. The eyeball of hurricanes go through building and organize cycles, and each time the eye goes through a cycle it can shift locations and/or shift direction. It is almost always the case.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136368)
• India
11 Oct
Good to know all is well with you and your family. I did read about it being the worst ever.
1 person likes this
@allknowing (136368)
• India
12 Oct
@moffittjc May be they are comparing it to the ones Florida had and this type they say was a century ago.
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
There will be a huge economic impact for sure, but I don’t know if this will go down as the worst ever to hit Florida. I think hurricane Andrew in 1992 might still be the worst one we ever had.
@RasmaSandra (79833)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
10 Oct
Glad you're all right. Wound up riding out the storm with my cat Freddie. His sister Tish got so scared of the wind and noise she ran down to my friends apartment where it was quieter.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
So everything’s good with you? You’re okay?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Oct
@JudyEv Yes, exactly! Or people who continue to build on mountainsides when there are frequent mudslides.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
If I lived in the coastal areas where the storm surge caused flooding as high as the roof of my house, I wouldn’t want to recover or rebuild there. That would be my sign from God to move inland and seek higher ground!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (339930)
• Rockingham, Australia
11 Oct
@moffittjc It's a bit like people being burnt out but continuing to build in the middle of forests.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
@jaylar When these storms get as large as they do, they tend to have a mind of their own, which makes it very hard to accurately predict what it will do.
@moffittjc (121581)
• Gainesville, Florida
11 Oct
I have a lot of friends in Tampa and Orlando that lost everything, but thankfully they’re all okay.
@jaylar (679)
• Kingston, Jamaica
11 Oct
@moffittjc it was such a strange storm... and the weather service was not particularly accurate
1 person likes this
