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    Scared by Helene, Everyone in This Florida Beach Town Evacuated for Milton

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    Chris Miller rode out Hurricane Helene just over two weeks ago inside his picturesque yellow home across from the Gulf of Mexico in Bradenton Beach, a tiny Florida city on a barrier island. As the storm surge rose, he readied a wet suit in case he needed to escape.As a huge wall of water swept away his next-door neighbor’s house, he called the mayor, who lives down the road.“I told him, ‘Bev’s house is headed your way,’” Mr. Miller recalled on Friday.So when Hurricane Milton bore down this week, with Bradenton Beach directly in its path, Mr. Miller knew that he had to evacuate.“After we saw what we saw,” he said, “we couldn’t stay.”Neither did anyone else, Bradenton Beach officials believe — the first time in recent memory that even the most dedicated die-hards had no interest in riding out the storm. The forecast was simply too scary, and the memory of Helene — and Ian, another frightening storm two years earlier — was too fresh.“Most of the time, we have a few stragglers,” Mayor John Chappie, who also stayed on the island for Helene, said on Friday. “I don’t think we had any this time.”Dan and June DeBaun returned to their home in Bradenton Beach briefly on Friday to survey the latest damage, which was less severe than what was inflicted by Helene.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Stranded Mariner Seemingly Floated in the Gulf for Hours After the Hurricane

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      The U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday rescued a man who had seemingly done the impossible: he survived for hours in the Gulf of Mexico with nothing but a life jacket and a cooler to cling to.The agency posted a video of a Coast Guard crew member dropping from a helicopter about 30 miles off Longboat Key to grab the man from choppy seas and lift him to safety.The man, the captain of a fishing vessel, had lost contact with the Coast Guard around 7 p.m. on Wednesday as the storm worsened. He wasn’t found until 1:30 p.m. on Thursday.He managed to stay alive despite winds as fast as 90 miles per hour and waves as high as 20 to 25 feet through the night, said Lt. Cmdr. Dana Grady, the St. Petersburg command center chief of the U.S. Coast Guard.“This man survived in a nightmare scenario for even the most experienced mariner,” he said in a statement. The rescued captain, who was not identified, was taken to Tampa General Hospital to receive medical care. More

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      Here’s Why Hurricane Milton Is Sucking Water Out of Tampa Bay

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      Even as some parts of Florida’s western coast were enduring a surge of seawater on Wednesday night, Hurricane Milton’s heavy winds were pushing water out of Tampa Bay.A flood gauge near Tampa showed the water levels fluctuating as Milton approached and then plummeting while the storm’s eye passed to the south — dropping three feet below the level expected on a normal day.The phenomenon, reminiscent of what occurred during Hurricanes Ian in 2022 and Irma in 2017, will probably last only a few hours — and could suddenly reverse, with damaging results.The outward flow is sometimes referred to as a reverse, or negative, storm surge. A storm surge occurs when high-speed winds push ocean water onshore, but in this case the winds are draining the bay instead of flooding it.A hurricane’s winds blow counterclockwise, and with Milton passing south of Tampa Bay, winds to the north of the storm are blowing in from the east, pushing water away from the shoreline.The unusual sight can draw curious onlookers, but officials say that it’s dangerous to wander out along shores with receding tides. The water will eventually return and could rise quickly in a matter of minutes. More

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      Evacuation Orders Posted as Florida Braces for Hurricane Milton

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      Evacuations and storm preparations began on Sunday night as forecasters projected that Hurricane Milton would slam into Florida’s west coast on Wednesday as a major hurricane packing life-threatening winds and storm surge.Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida said in a news conference Sunday evening that a “flurry” of evacuation orders would be issued over the next 24 hours.He encouraged residents on the southwest part of the west coast to leave ahead of the mandatory orders.“Do not make inferences that somehow you’re going to be in the clear,” he said. “The entire peninsula, the entire west coast, has the potential to have major, major impact because of the storm surge.”Hurricane Milton is expected to make landfall in the Tampa Bay area as a Category 3 hurricane on Wednesday.Forecasters predict heavy rain could bring flash flooding and life-threatening storm surges. Milton could also pack winds of more than 100 miles per hour if the hurricane strengthens to a category 3 or higher.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Hurricane Helene Aftermath: 6 Issues Across the Southeast

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      The worst fallout from the hurricane is in western North Carolina, but at least five other states are grappling with their own intractable problems. More than a week after Hurricane Helene made landfall as a Category 4 storm, state officials across the Southeast are scrambling to repair damaged electrical lines, roads and bridges affecting tens of thousands across the path of destruction.Helene wreaked havoc from Florida to the Appalachian states after making landfall on the Gulf Coast on Sept. 26. The worst fallout is still in western North Carolina, where, in addition to the mass wreckage of destroyed buildings, teams are searching for dozens of missing people, some areas have no potable water, cellphone communication remains spotty, more than 170,000 customers still don’t have power, and hundreds of roads are closed. But at least five other states are grappling with their own intractable problems from impassable highways to ruined farmland.President Biden, who surveyed the storm’s toll this week, said Helene most likely caused billions of dollars in damage, and he asked Congress on Friday to quickly replenish disaster relief funds to help. Here are some of the biggest current issues in the Southeast:In North Carolina, an untold number of people are still missing.The remains of a home in Swannanoa, N.C.Loren Elliott for The New York TimesIn the western part of the state, many families’ greatest concern is their unaccounted loved ones. But looking for them in mountain-ringed towns and rugged ravines has been a daunting task for search teams, and the effort has been hampered by poor cell service and widespread power losses.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      In a Corner of Florida, Preparing for Storm Debby Stirs Familiar Feelings

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      Many on the state’s northwestern coast felt they knew what to expect from Debby, which is forecast to make landfall as a hurricane, after a much stronger storm hit the area last year.As Tropical Storm Debby churned through the Gulf of Mexico on Sunday, Lucia Trapani was securing patio furniture and offering refunds to people who had booked stays at the motel she manages on an island off Florida’s northwestern coast.Ms. Trapani had been through this before. Less than a year ago, as Hurricane Idalia approached, she shut off the water and electricity at the Sunset Isle RV Resort, where she worked at the time, and moved campers off the property. The Category 3 storm did so much damage to the resort that it still has not reopened.Ms. Trapani and Brooke Matthews — another manager of the motel, Park Place in Cedar Key — described Idalia with one word, in unison: “traumatizing.”Almost a year after Idalia became the strongest storm to hit the sparsely populated Big Bend region, known for manatees and marshlands, residents are bracing for Debby, which is expected to make landfall as a Category 1 hurricane early Monday. Storm surge of up to 10 feet was expected in some areas, andmandatory evacuation orders have been issued for parts of Levy County, including Cedar Key, as well as Franklin and Citrus Counties. By midday Sunday, Debby was still a tropical storm, with winds of 65 miles per hour. But it was expected to strengthen rapidly over the gulf before making landfall as a hurricane, with winds of at least 74 m.p.h.At a news conference Sunday afternoon, Gov. Ron DeSantis said that Debby was following a path like Idalia’s last year, but with a key difference: lower winds and a lot more rain are expected. Other states in the Southeast could also see heavy rain in the coming days, including Georgia and the Carolinas.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Ohio Mother Killed Trying to Stop a Carjacking With Her Son Inside

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      The woman, 29, was struck by her own vehicle after the suspects began driving away, the police said.Detectives in Columbus, Ohio, this weekend were searching for two men as they investigated the death of a woman who was fatally struck by her own vehicle while trying to stop a carjacking that occurred with her 6-year-old son in the car. Alexa Stakley, 29, was carjacked shortly before 1:30 a.m. on Thursday while picking up her son at the home of a babysitter after wrapping up a shift waiting tables, according to the police. After putting the sleeping 6-year-old inside her 2022 silver Honda SUV, Ms. Stakley walked back toward the babysitter’s house to retrieve an item, according to a police report. As she turned back, Ms. Stakley saw her moving. She was seen “running toward her Honda and was heard screaming for her child,” the police report said. Moments later, Ms. Stakley was struck by the vehicle, suffering a fatal wound to the head. Shortly afterward, two men were seen running away from the area, abandoning the vehicle nearby, the police said. Police officers found the child inside the car unharmed. Carjackings have been called “an important public safety threat” by the Department of Justice, which earlier this year announced it had established 11 task forces to combat the crime in areas of particular concern, like Philadelphia, Chicago and Tampa, Fla. We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

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      Man Wrongfully Imprisoned for 37 Years to Receive $14 Million From City of Tampa

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      Robert DuBoise, 59, was sentenced to death after being wrongfully convicted in a 1983 murder and rape. He sued after his conviction was overturned and reached a settlement with the city on Thursday.A man who spent 37 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted in the 1983 rape and murder of a woman in Tampa, Fla., will receive $14 million in a settlement with the City of Tampa, it said Thursday.The man, Robert DuBoise, 59, was just 18 when he was arrested in connection with the killing of Barbara Grams, 19, who was beaten to death and whose body was discovered behind a dental office on the north side of the city on Aug. 19, 1983.Mr. DuBoise was convicted of first-degree murder and attempted sexual battery in 1985 following a one-week trial in which a jailhouse informant claimed he was guilty, and prosecutors argued that Mr. DuBoise’s teeth matched what they described as a bite mark on the victim’s cheek. He was initially sentenced to death, but three years later, the Florida Supreme Court changed that sentence to life in prison.In August 2020, Mr. DuBoise was freed after new DNA evidence came to light that exonerated him and implicated two other men who were later charged in the killing. The next year, Mr. DuBoise filed a federal lawsuit against the City of Tampa, four former police officers and the forensic odontologist who had testified against him.On Thursday, the Tampa City Council unanimously approved the settlement, which is to be paid in three installments over three years.“I’m just grateful,” Mr. DuBoise said in an interview Thursday, adding that he hoped his case could serve as an example for others who had been wrongfully convicted. He said he hoped that “they get justice and can move on without having to spend the rest of their life fighting the system that has already wronged them.”We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More