Families fleeing Florida traveled hundreds of miles before finding hotel rooms

ATLANTA — Some of the last people to flee from Florida ahead of Hurricane Milton arrived in Atlanta Wednesday evening.

“We couldn’t find a hotel closer,” Jameele Sichaap told Channel 2′s Courtney Francisco.

She and her family drove more than 600 miles from Ft. Myers before they found a spot with openings near the Windy Hill exit on Interstate 75.

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Family after family in the hotel parking lot were seeking refuge.

“You never know what could happen,” Joshua Liniano said.

He is from Tampa. He booked his hotel room here in advance because he anticipated it would be tough to find space during the evacuation period.

Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) has been tracking traffic volume on I-75 Northbound during the evacuation process.

GDOT said the number of cars is up significantly.

It has been four times higher than usual at some points.

However, GDOT said speed on the interstate is still normal.

“I hope everybody was able to evacuate and make it to a safe area,” Liniano said.

He hopes to return home Friday to see if the storm spared his home.

“We will see if there’s any devastation to our property or our homes and go forward from there,” said Liniano.

For a list of resources and lodging in Cobb County, visit this website.

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