Stuff’s getting real for Sanibel, as the island city evacuates before Hurricane Milton.
Deadline for everyone to be off the island is 10 p.m. Tuesday, said City Manager Dana Souza.
That’s also when a curfew goes into effect, Souza said, and will remain until further notice. Anyone on or trying to get on the island after that by vehicle or by boat could be arrested, he said.
Mayor Richard Johnson was emphatic: “It is not time to be a hero,” said Johnson. “It’s not time to try to stand against the storm surge that’s coming,” Johnson said. “Get everything you can out of the way of the water, especially yourself, your family and your pets.”
Residents filled more than 3,000 sandbags at the fire station in less than an hour, which trucks were working to replenish, said Fire Chief Kevin Barbot.
When winds get high, rescuers stay put
Once tropical storm-force winds arrive, “We will not be in a position to render aid,” he said. First responders may either be off-island themselves or prohibited from traveling until they die down.