Fleeing from hurricane, Florida residents flood into Georgia

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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - As Florida residents race out of the Sunshine State to get away from Hurricane Milton, many are heading to Georgia.

The Georgia Department of Transportation reported a significant rise in traffic volume Tuesday on highways into Georgia.

Milton is expected to make landfall as a Category 5 hurricane in west central Florida in the early morning hours Thursday.

Georgia’s coast is under a tropical storm watch due to expected impacts from Milton in the state, with the threat of significant rain and high winds a possibility.

The CSRA is often a place where people come when they’re trying to get away from hurricanes, but they might not find it as comfortable as normal as Augusta recovers from Hurricane Helene – its worst natural disaster in memory.

This time, officials with the Georgia Emergency Management and Homeland Security Agency are urging Florida evacuees to find refuge in Albany, Columbus, Macon and Atlanta.

Floridians are also encouraged to call ahead if they’re going to area hotels or shelters because resources in south Georgia are limited due to damage from Helene.

On Monday afternoon, the Atlanta Motor Speedway announced it would be hosting evacuees free of charge at its site in Hampton.

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As Florida residents heed evacuation orders issued in many parts of the state, Georgia’s interstates are seeing a traffic level up to four times higher than historical averages.

Videos on social media showed thousands of Floridians fleeing the state.

“The bumper-to-bumper traffic has been insane, especially getting directly out of Tampa,” said Ella Sgrignoli, who was traveling to Atlanta from Tampa.

Sgrignoli was carpooling north with two other students from the University of South Florida.

“We’ve just been trying to keep our spirits up because we just don’t know what’s going to happen to Florida, especially where we live,” she said.

Patti Rhodes, who evacuated from the Sarasota area Monday with her family.

“When we saw the strength of this storm after what happened after the last two, we decided to take a break,” she said.

In spite of significantly higher volumes, speeds on both highways were reported as normal.

Georgia state parks are open for RVs and campers.

Florida residents are advised to look ahead and plan their evacuation routes by consulting www.511ga.org.