PORT ST LUCIE, Fla. — With just 38 days to go before the official start of hurricane season, residents across the Treasure Coast are still recovering emotionally and physically from the devastation of Hurricane Milton and the EF-3 tornado it spawned in Fort Pierce.
That tornado killed six people and left a trail of destruction through the Country Club community of Spanish Lakes. Now, as a new season approaches, many residents are looking for guidance—not just to rebuild, but to be ready next time.
WATCH: Residents share hurricane season concerns with WPTV
That’s why Spanish Lakes One reached out to WPTV.
Meteorologist Sami Squires and Investigative Reporter Kate Hussey answered the call, stepping up to provide critical safety information to help the community prepare for what could come next.
"Last year was...awful," said Nina Ilasi, who, along with Steve Francken, organized the event.
Though the most daunting tornado to hit the Treasure Coast was the EF-3 up north, an EF-2 also hit the Spanish Lakes One community in Port St. Lucie off U.S. 1. It passed right through their backyards, and memories are still fresh.
"We were never worried about tornadoes. We were worried about the hurricane," said Spanish Lakes resident, Kathy Gleason.
That's why dozens gathered inside a local Spanish Lakes community center. They came not just out of curiosity, but out of necessity.
On Oct. 9, 2024, an EF-3 tornado with winds topping 155 mph tore through the development's Country Club park in Fort Pierce, killing six and destroying dozens of homes. The emotional toll? Immeasurable.
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"Yeah, I was listening to the names, because we do know some people up there," said Bob Gleason.
Now, seven months later, people like the Gleason's are still looking for peace of mind.
"The tornado scares you, because you really don’t know what to do," said Kathy Gleason.
"People, they’re not looking forward to hurricane season, they really, really aren’t," said Ilasi, "because we don’t know what’s about to happen."
That’s the reason Ilasi and Steve Francken reached out to WPTV for help in the first place.
Squires shared vital hurricane preparation tips with the group: forecasts that prepare, plans that protect, and advice that, in the face of a storm, could mean survival.
"Evacuation, recovery, it covered the whole thing," said Bob Gleason.
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But the conversation didn’t stop at the weather.
Hussey covered concerns about the safety of manufactured homes, issues on emergency alerts and insurance gaps.
"We have a manufactured home, a mobile home," said Kathy Gleason. "Our kids are concerned about us staying in the home with a hurricane coming. What do you do?"
Now, in areas where wreckage once defined the view, only empty lots remain.
"It’s still bad," said Bob Gleason.
The tornado scars may be cleared, but the fear of the next storm looms large, and as they leave, we hope they carry not fear, but the power that comes with being prepared.
"They need to know what’s going on, they need to know what to do, where to go and how to do it," said Ilasi.
