My family endured a terrifying night when Hurricane Milton hit, but we won’t move out of Florida

• Allie Rae chronicled her family’s experience sheltering in place during Hurricane Milton.
• The 40-year-old content creator and mother of three called it the scariest night of her life.
• Rae told Business Insider the storm hasn’t shaken her love for Florida.

Allie Rae is a mother, entrepreneur, and OnlyFans creator who said she had to endure Hurricane Milton with her family in their high-rise condominium in Clearwater Beach, Florida.

She chronicled the experience on TikTok as tens of millions of viewers tuned in. This essay is based on a conversation with Rae, 40, and has been edited for length and clarity.

We moved to Florida about four years ago, wanting to get away from the Minnesota cold. We wanted a different life and it’s beautiful down here.

My husband and I were actually in London last week when Milton was developing, but we learned how serious the storm was going to be the day we flew back.

We were supposed to fly straight to Vegas after touching down in Florida for a hockey game, but our tickets got canceled. So while we were in the air, I panic-bought five tickets to Houston — for my husband and our three sons — which is where my sister lives.

But one hour before we landed on Monday, we got a notification that all of the airports were shutting down.

It was never our intention to try to stay and ride out the storm. But when we got back, everyone was already evacuating, and there was no gas or supplies.

We live in a two-story penthouse in Clearwater Beach in a mandatory evacuation zone. But ultimately, we felt like our best bet was to stock up on food and water, and stay in the high-rise as a family.

It was terrifying knowing there’s a wind tunnel in your living room

On Wednesday night, things started picking up quickly.

Our building was constructed in the seventies, and our unit has a lot of windows — only about half of which were shuttered. We didn’t have time to board them up and we were worried they would shatter.

Our initial plan was to hole up in the master bedroom. Then we moved to the master closet and eventually to my office because everything was shaking, and the office didn’t touch any exterior windows or walls.

Two windows shattered on the main floor, which ended up getting flooded with an inch or two of rain.

I can’t even describe the sounds of those roars. It was terrifying knowing there was a wind tunnel in your living room.

The building kept swaying, and we were getting a little dizzy — and scared it might collapse. We even packed up and went downstairs to the trash room on the ground floor of the building temporarily, but ultimately decided we’d be safer upstairs.

It was the scariest night of our lives. I was in tears and just wanted it to end. It was like being on a Ferris wheel where you’re sick and want to get off, but it just won’t stop.

This experience hasn’t shaken our love for Florida

Once things finally died down in the middle of the night, we all took our air mattresses to the master bedroom and went to sleep.

Waking up Thursday was daunting, but there are parts that are not as bad as we thought.

The windows probably needed to be replaced anyway, and water damage is never cheap. I’m sure we have a couple hundred thousand dollars worth of damage, but we have insurance.

We plan to stay here unless we’re advised it’s not safe. It’s a large condo and there are still portions where we feel safe. We don’t have power, but there’s plenty of water and food.

Still, this experience hasn’t shaken our love for Florida. I love this state, and I know that this comes with it. And I’m not a victim-type gal. You don’t live on the beach and have paradise 360 days a year and then complain when this happens.

I was very well aware before moving here that these storms come with the package, and you have to be prepared for that. You become better at preparing over time.

You could live out in the suburbs of Tampa, but I choose to live on the water and the beach. I’ve seen people who have to rebuild their houses constantly. For now, I take the emotional and financial risk and I’m comfortable with that.