'This was a beast': Cork man living in Florida tells of experience during Hurricane Milton

A Cork man who lives in Florida has said he has never seen anything like Hurricane Milton, with homes now “like submarines” as the category 3 storm made landfall on Tuesday night.

Paul McCarthy, who spoke to the Neil Prendeville Show on RedFM today, detailed scenes on-the-ground as the hurricane made its way across the Floridian coast.

“This is my fifth hurricane and this was the worst for sure,” said Mr McCarthy.

“It started early morning around 2am on Tuesday, and then last night at 11pm, I thought that was it - I thought everything was going to be a disaster.” 

Mr McCarthy explained that he decided to not evacuate his home in Pinellas County as he felt safe living on the fifth floor of a high-rise condominium building.

He further shared that the building is located atop a golf course, that flooded entirely.

“I’m lucky that I’m in a C zone, there is A, B and C zones, and the C zone is not a flood zone - this was the first time they said this was going to be a flood zone and we were asked to evacuate - I've never been asked to evacuate this building before,” he said.

“I’m elevated, I’m up higher, it’s a concrete building, [and] some of my neighbours decided to stay [too], but it was the first time I was scared in a hurricane.

“At one stage I was holding my patio door windows, I thought they were for sure coming in.” 

The Cork man went on to describe how dozens of tornadoes were reported from the area contributing to the devastating damage to homes, vehicles and businesses.

“This was a beast - It’s still windy outside, it’s very eerie, there’s no electricity anywhere – but we’re surviving,” he added.

“It’s like a war zone – it's very sad.” 

The former Leesider went on to highlight how evacuating for many is not an option, as the cost of accommodation and flights increases during times of mass and mandatory evacuation.

“There’s nowhere to go, we were going to go to Orlando, which is 90 miles away, and then we looked at flights to Atlanta, and they were $2,500 when it’s usually $200,” he said.

Hurricane Milton is the second hurricane to hit the Florida area in the last three weeks, as Hurricane Helene made landfall on September 26, and claimed the lives of more than 230 people.

As reports continue to emerge from the US, it is believed that Hurricane Milton has claimed the lives of several people, with more than 3 million having lost power since the storm made contact with the coastline.