'Never Gets Easier:' Former News 9 Reporter Reflects On Devastation, Hurricane Preparations In Tampa Bay

While many are fleeing the Tampa Bay area as Hurricane Milton looms closer, some are staying behind to ride out this storm.

Including a familiar face: former News 9 reporter Anjelicia Bruton. “This past week's been just like crazy preparations,” Bruton said.

She’s no stranger to being in the midst of disaster after covering numerous tornadoes in her time with News 9.

Now, she’s covered Hurricane Helene and Milton in just two weeks. “It never gets easier looking at all the devastation. Doesn't matter where you are, if it's a tornado, hurricane, Oklahoma, or even Florida, it's all sad just to see all that debris lining the road or people going through their stuff. You can never really get used to looking at that as a reporter or just as someone in the community,” Bruton said.

And contrary to Oklahomans' experiences with tornadoes, she says more time to prepare doesn't always ease the anxiety. “Very different than tornadoes, but still just as destructive,” Bruton said.

Meteorologists everywhere are tracking Hurricane Milton as it barrels towards the coast, including News 9 weather expert, David Payne.

He explained Tampa’s waters are shallow, making 10-15 foot storm surge and hurricane force winds a deadly combination. “You're going to have catastrophic damage where there will be nothing left except just debris,” Payne said.

Hundreds of thousands have already fled the Tampa Bay area in preparation for Milton. “Stuff was selling out the gas stations that most of the pumps are closed,” Bruton said.

She is prepared to hunker down in the area, in order to provide life-saving information to viewers in Tampa. “What keeps me, sane in these situations is knowing that I’m doing a service for other people," she said.

Bruton told us she and her crew in Tampa are taking every precaution including temporarily moving inland to ride out the storm.