Sarasota County has issued mandatory evacuations for levels A, B, and C, which includes the barrier islands and downtown Sarasota. For those not evacuating, they’re doing what they can to stay safe and protect their homes. “We thought about leaving, may not make sense to leave now,” said resident Greg Volkov.

Four years ago, a disaster planning project called "Hurricane Phoenix" imagined what the worst-case scenario would be for a hurricane hitting Tampa. The result looks a lot like some of the forecasts for the region as Hurricane Milton approaches.