People should not rush out too quickly to check on their properties after Hurricane Milton has passed, Clearwater Mayor Bruce Rector warned Newsmax on Wednesday.
"We do need some patience from folks after the storm to make sure the beach is secure," as well as the entire surrounding area, the mayor told "Wake Up America."
Rector said he understands, following the hurricane, everyone will be concerned about the condition of their property, but cautioned "there are all kinds of things in the water that the storm brings up," including very large items, as well as electrical wires, so it is will be very dangerous.
He reassured residents as Hurricane Milton approached that "we just need to brace ourselves, get through this storm and then we will get to recovery very quickly."
Rector said that he was very busy yesterday making sure residents would be safe as the storm approaches.
"We had a tremendous devastating hurricane [Helene] pass by us two weeks ago with lots of storm surge and flooding damage, so the folks on North Beach in Clearwater who were the most damaged, they got the message, so I did not have to encourage very hard for them to get out of their single family dwelling homes," Rector said.
However, he added, "I did have to work pretty hard going up and down every street to make sure that folks were leaving our condominium buildings. They think that, just because they are higher up, they are safe from a storm this strong, and they're not. We have a lot of debris we are not able to get off the street, unfortunately, so projectiles could be coming their way even if you are seven to 10 stories high."
Rector said it has been a very frustrating period, as there has not been enough time or equipment to clean up all the debris, much of which is very large objects, from Helene's impact just a short time ago.
The mayor also said that he had received a call from President Joe Biden, who "expressed concern for our residents in the area and offered FEMA's help and the federal government's help."
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Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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