WINDSOR LOCKS – Floridians have spent the past week boarding up their homes in preparation for Hurricane Irma that is expected to make landfall in some parts of Florida starting Saturday with the rest of the state being hit the hardest on Sunday morning.
Several flights that were supposed to leave Florida late Friday night were cancelled. The last flight coming in from Ft. Lauderdale to Connecticut arrived shortly after 9 p.m. when its arrival time was supposed to be around 7:45 p.m.
The passengers that arrived at Bradley International Airport were from Connecticut but many of them were from different parts of Florida like Miami or Ft. Lauderdale. Some had no set plan on where they would stay in Connecticut or what the fate of their home would be once the storm is over.
However, they were all told to evacuate immediately so airports were extremely packed Friday as Floridians jumped on last minute flights to escape. Supermarket shelves were empty and finding water and gas has become almost impossible. People down in Florida have spent their days boarding up their homes with hopes it will provide some stability when Irma hits.
While Floridians said they are used to hurricanes, they know this one would be no joke.
“It’s very frightening to me because I’ve never been through that. I’m used to snowstorms as being from here, so I’d rather go through a snowstorm than go through a hurricane,” said Monique Edwards of Hartford.
Meanwhile, Charlotte from Ft. Lauderdale said everyone has been panicking and she came to CT to be with her family members in the meantime. “I had been in Hurricane Sandy and a couple others and when they tell you to get out, you get out.”
Meanwhile, Alejandra Carriazo from Miami had a flight to Ithaca, New York but it was cancelled. She was notified a flight to Connecticut was available so she said she immediately jumped on it.
Carriazo said the airport lines in Florida were extremely long and the wait time to board took hours.
“There wre lines that were going from like … it was the whole length of this whole baggage claim. It was ridiculous. I was standing in line and in an hour, I moved maybe like two feet,” said Carriazo.
Airports in Florida have all closed except for Miami International Airport. Airlines have halted operations but earlier on Friday, airlines even added flights so they could scoop up as many passengers as possible to get everyone out.