WATCH: Zululanders narrowly escape dual hurricane threats

Richards Bay locals, Rudi and Sharnee Stadler, found themselves navigating the chaos of two hurricanes within days of each another while travelling to Florida, USA for a wedding.

Arriving on 28 September, they narrowly missed Hurricane Helene, which left 227 people dead and hundreds missing after making landfall just two days earlier.

“Our hosts were worried we would be stuck in New York due to Helene, but fortunately we just missed it,” said Rudi, speaking to the Zululand Observer on Tuesday.

The Stadlers attended the wedding on Saturday between John Mascia (in video) and his bride, which went off without a hitch despite being held in between two hurricanes.

“They were stressed, beaches were closed, and workers were clearing the roads and rebuilding destroyed houses and buildings,” he said, describing the post-Helene atmosphere.

As Hurricane Milton began its approach this week, the Stadlers’ hosts were again panicking.

“News broke about Hurricane Milton’s approach and the severity, and there were concerns that our flights out would be in danger as warnings were being issued to prepare for a category 5 hurricane.”

Pre-storm preparations continue unabated as Hurricane Milton is set to make landfall in Florida today (Wednesday).

“The most panicked people were those living in modular houses, who had to evacuate or move to shelters as schools closed and shops were boarded up,” said Rudi, adding that him and Sharnee helped secure their hosts’ home before evacuating.

“The concern was flying debris and high winds expected to be around 180mp/h (289km/h). We helped batten down the hatches, move tables closer to the house, tie down chairs, get diesel, and even prepared a dingy on standby.

“We saw loads of cars queued up for petrol and diesel, quite a sight in a first world country, and food shelves emptied in hours,” said Rudi.

The Stadlers evacuated safely from Fort Myers this (Tuesday) morning, catching one of the last flights out.

“My heart breaks for those left behind. They’ll face power outages, loss of mobile reception and shortages, but the sense of community is encouraging as people are gathering to have ‘hurricane parties’,” he said.

Read more on Hurricane Milton in the ZO Weekender as we speak with other Zululanders in its path.

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