BOYNTON BEACH — More than 900 people used Palm Beach County’s five shelters on Wednesday night as Hurricane Milton cut a destructive path across Florida. Howard Foster was one of them.
The Riviera Beach resident was among the 100 or so people who rode out the tropical-storm-force winds at the shelter set up at Park Vista High School along Jog Road in suburban Boynton Beach. By 10 a.m. Thursday, nearly everyone had left.
Foster was waiting for a friend to drive him to the mobile-home park where he lives. It is not far from the Intracoastal Waterway, and Palm Beach County sheriff’s deputies urged residents in his community to go to a shelter.
Many did not, but Foster said he left because he didn’t want to take any chances. As it turned out, Foster’s community sustained minimal damage.
“I’d rather be safe than sorry,” he said Thursday morning. “You never know what can happen with these hurricanes. I was very worried about losing power.”
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Seven sites in Palm Beach County offered shelter from Hurricane Milton
The county used four other schools as shelters: Palm Beach Gardens High School, Forest Hill High School in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach Central High School in Wellington and Lake Shore Middle School in Belle Glade, which housed 228 people Wednesday night. The Glades area saw heavy winds and rains from Milton during Wednesday’s early hours.
“It is a pretty good amount,” county spokesperson John Jamason said of those sheltering at the Belle Glade school. “A lot of times the Glades shelter doesn’t have a ton of people. I think maybe it’s because it could be a little worse out there, or maybe it’s a little worse earlier than over here on the coast.”
The county also had a pet-friendly shelter at the West Boynton Recreation Center and a special-needs shelter at the South Florida Fairgrounds.
The lone issue Foster had with the shelter at Park Vista High was that no beds or even mats were provided for people to sleep on. “It was difficult to sleep on the bare floor,” he said.
But both Foster and Berneal Garnett, who is homeless, said they were pleased with the way the shelter was run. “No complaints,” Garnett said.
James Green, director of the Palm Beach County Community ServicesDepartment, said anyone staying at a shelter is advised that no bedding is provided.
“We specifically tell them that along with other items they should bring,” he said.
Some Palm Beach County shelters housed people from other counties
Other shelters saw a mix of local residents and evacuees from other counties who chose to ride out Milton here.
Palm Beach Gardens High is the county’s largest shelter, with a capacity for more than 5,200 people. Liz Rivera from Fort Pierce was the first to arrive. She got there an hour early with her three kids: 3-year-old twins who she pushed in a double-stroller and a teenager who helped carry their bags.
Rivera, 33, decided to evacuate because she felt safer in the high school’s large gymnasium than in her house. She watched many homes flood in Puerto Rico when Hurricane Maria hit in 2017. She didn’t want to risk being in a flooded home with her kids.
“I feel scared,” said Rivera, who sheltered in Palm Beach Gardens because her husband works nearby. “I don’t want to drown, especially because I have my children. I think it will be safer here.”
Shaharazade DeCorday also decided to weather the storm from the shelter because she feels safer there. She lives in a cottage in Riviera Beach surrounded by large trees which tilt forward every time wind blows.
The high school has become her haven during storm threats over the years. This is her fourth time taking shelter there. DeCorday only brought a few tote bags with her and used her jacket as a pillow Wednesday night. She doesn’t mind because it is worth feeling protected, she said.
Still, she hopes this is the last time she will take shelter there. After living in Florida for two decades, she wants to move to Missouri.
“I’m tired of the hurricanes and the heat,” DeCorday said. “Twenty years is enough, right?”
Mike Diamond is a journalist at The Palm Beach Post, part of the USA TODAY Florida Network. He covers Palm Beach County government and issues impacting homeowner associations. You can reach him at mdiamond@pbpost.com. Help support local journalism. Subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Hurricane Milton: More than 900 people used Palm Beach County shelters
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