ROLLA, Mo. — Christine Coleman, a St. Louis native, moved to Florida after her home was destroyed in the 2022 flooding near Lambert Airport. Now her cousin Renee Kennedy in Rolla, Missouri, is loading her Mystical Mini Donuts and Munchies food truck with supplies to drive to Florida and provide support to her entire community.
When Hurricane Milton swept through the Ocala/Silver Spring area on Wednesday, Coleman was in an RV with her husband weathering the storm.
The area is about 90 miles northeast of Tampa but had some of the heaviest rain and strongest wind.
By the time a mandatory evacuation was issued for the RVs and manufactured homes in the area, the shelters were full.
Coleman called, saying the roads and parking lots were packed with people. They also did not know anyone with a sound structure within driving distance.
The wind gust began around noon on Wednesday. By 8:30 p.m. Coleman said they had completely lost power and several transformers blew out.
"Our RV can withstand 85 miles per hour winds, and it was shaking us. It covered the entire state with the wind capacity. It was like nothing anybody had ever seen before. You sit and pray and look at each other like, okay, we're doing this. You know, this is happening. It's surreal," said Coleman.
She put her phone chargers, clothes, and medications in the washing machine in case the RV flipped over or caught fire.
"It was touch and go. Don't get me wrong there was times we both looked at each other and was like well ya know," she said snickering. "The wind, the noise, the shaking. We are full time RVers so we got shook around a little bit."
The storm came to a point where Coleman said she was considering writing things on her arm so her children could access what they needed if she did not survive.
Once the storm subsided and the winds calmed Thursday morning, Coleman checked on her RV park neighbors including a 95-year-old woman who lives alone. She confirmed that everyone in their community is doing ok.
According to Coleman, the area she lives in did not experience as much devastation as the south side of Florida.
"They were completely devastated. Ravaged! The pictures are incredible," Coleman said. "The media said that this is the largest hurricane they have ever seen. You can see the wind span of this engulf the entire state."
Coleman said they still do not have power and the sound of generators is a noticeable one. Gasoline and water are the biggest needs for people in the RV park with Coleman.
Just hours after the storm she has contacted local churches to find out how she can help others. Her first cousin, who fundraised for victims of Hurricane Helene, has taken to social media for on behalf of Coleman's community.
Coleman called Kennedy her first best friend and Kennedy considers Coleman to be a sister. In fact, Kennedy has an RV in the same community that she uses seasonally. Her focus has been on the family members she has that have been greatly impacted by both Hurricane Helene and Milton.
As of Thursday morning, they are all safe, Kennedy said.
"I am checking on all my people and they are good. Praise God they are good," she said. "They got trees down, no power but they're good."
Kennedy has made a decision to bring propane and gasoline by way of her food truck. She plans to leave early Friday morning and stay for an indefinite amount of time.
"I've met so many good people down there, and they all help each other, so I want to help. They've just had their lives ripped apart. It's a mess in some places, and I want to help them," said Kennedy.
Kennedy said she normally goes to Florida in November but she felt like she needed to go early to help.
"I have loaded my food truck with all of my food. Anything that I have that I can cook. I have gone to the store with some of the money that was donated and got a ton of hotdogs," Kennedy said.
She is also bringing four stoves that require propane so that people can make warm food.
Kennedy is preparing for every possible hurdle. After Kennedy drives 15 hours on Friday, the two cousins will head to other hard-hit areas in Florida to provide free food and drinks for those who need it. She said she doesn't mind if her business takes a hit, if it means she can help those who've lost so much.
"Everything is going back into this, I mean everything, even my own money at this point," Kennedy shared.
"This is real. These are real people who are devastated by this that have lost everything especially on the coastal cities. This is happening in real time while the rest of the world goes on about their business. There are some areas that look like third-world countries. People have lost everything in the devastation between the floods and the winds, and it's really bad," Coleman said.
Thanks to Kennedy's reputation of service, donations are constantly flowing in.
"When people don't feel, they don't see, they don't care," Kennedy said but she feels drawn to do something.