By KEILE CAMPBELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kcampbell@tribunemedia.net

CURT Hollingsworth, The Bahamas’ Consul General in Miami, said there were no reports of Bahamians in distress during or after Hurricane Milton, which barreled through Florida as a category 3 storm.

However, he emphasised that he is still awaiting updates from teams on the ground.

Bahamians living in Florida were in positive spirits when speaking to the Tribune yesterday, though some, like Cocoa Beach resident Felicity Clarke, were freightened by tornado warnings.

She, her mother, daughter, younger sister, and five-year-old nephewwere sheltering together when they received tornado warnings before Milton made landfall.

“Me and my family went inside the washing machine room first, but then we decided to just go inside the bathroom and we laid out,” she said.

She said that a tornado, which passed 12 minutes from her home, was the scariest moment during the storm. Her home, she said, was not damaged.

Samantha Smith, who also lives on Florida’s east coast, said her family was prepared for the hurricane but scared by the tornado warnings.

Ms Smith, who was at her place of employment, a hotel, during Hurricane Milton, recounted how guests were guided to safety away from broken glass to the ballroom when two tornadoes passed dangerously close.

She said the hurricane “wasn’t too, too bad” but the tornadoes destroyed surrounding areas, with roofs being ripped off of buildings.

Hurricane Milton, which made landfall with winds of 120mph, triggered over 120 tornado warnings across Florida, making it one of the most tornado-heavy storms in recent history. The storm’s powerful winds and the ensuing tornadoes left many areas severely damaged, forcing thousands to seek shelter and resulting in widespread power outages.