EYEWITNESS NEWS (WBRE/WYOU) — One resident with ties to our area in NEPA is staying put in Tampa. Mitch Sefchik says he knows it is a risk to stay but feels it is also a risk to leave.
"Why are you staying in Tampa when this hurricane is coming?," 28/22 News Reporter Kathryn Oleary asked. "There definitely a few reasons. We're not in a mandatory evacuation zone. They've evacuated zones A, B, and C, we're in zone E," Sefchik explained.
Being on the outskirts of the evacuation zones is not the only reason Mitch Sefchik decided to ride out Hurricane Milton.
"So to get out of Tampa, a lot of these major highways are parking lots right now. We don't want to risk getting stuck in, getting stuck on the highway during this. There's, you know, 30-plus miles of standstill traffic right now," Sefchik said.
Sefchik, a Hazleton area native, also noted the difficulty in finding shelter with hotel rooms booked and many leaving the state.
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Despite the risks, he believes staying might be safer than getting caught in evacuation traffic panic.
"To be prepared is pretty normal here. We have our house all out windows and everything boarded, we look out for each other in the neighborhood. We all know where we can go if things do start to get really bad," Sefchik added.
Meanwhile, recovery efforts for Hurricane Helene are still ongoing,
Organizations like the Salvation Army and Save the Children are ramping up their response to address both the aftermath of Helene and the impending impact of Milton.
"We have a request for I think for another 6 to 8 to be deployed within the next 24 to 46 hours leaving our region so things for us are very quickly ramping up…You know this is going to be a long-duration storm, we'll be sending people down there for weeks is the anticipation," said Salvation Army Divisional Director of Emergency Disaster Services Luke Rodgers.
"Our staff is working what seems like 24 hours to triage to help as much as we can and so any funding that's available we push directly out towards the community whether it's paying for diapers, wipes, and hygiene kits," said Save the Children Senior Advisor for Education in Emergencies Militza Mezquita.
Save the Children also works to provide childcare providers with the tools they need to ensure children can continue learning in a safe environment after a disaster
"Whether its material for their classrooms, outdoor equipment, fencing, roof shingles, anything that they need to make sure kids have that safe space when we want to make sure kids are able to get back to an environment that is quality for them and also safe," Mezquita added.
If you want to help out the Salvation Army or make a donation to Save the Children, you can donate online, or by phone at 1-800-SAL-ARMY (1-800-725-2769.)
You can also donate by mail to The Salvation Army, PO Box 1959, Atlanta, GA 30301.
