Leaving home wasn't an easy decision for Paula Parker and her husband James.
"Part of you wants to stay and see what's going on there and protect your property," said Parker.
But as Hermine closes in, it was the safest thing to do.
"If something happened, we have no way to get out."
So this school cafeteria and the Panhandle's Taylor County is home for tonight.
"I brought puzzles, I brought cards, I brought crafts."
She's not sure what she, her husband, and everyone else in this part of Florida will wake up to when this storm passes. But she's not afraid.
"No, god's in control we have faith," she said.
The Red Cross says more than two dozen shelters are open across the state because of this storm.
"I will tell you during my time at the red cross that this is probably the biggest event that we're facing," said the shelter manager.
Preparing for what could take so much away, but James Parker says that's not what's important.
"Houses and belongings are just material things, I've had them and lost them before," he said.
