RDU filled with people arriving from Florida ahead of powerful Hurricane Milton

MORRISVILLE, N.C. (WTVD) -- Scott Mullis' plans changed quickly when he saw Hurricane Milton, still a Category 5 storm Tuesday night, headed on a direct path for Florida.

He was on vacation in New Smyrna Beach outside of Daytona Beach, which is on the east side of the state.

"This is a pretty dangerous storm," said Mullis who lived in Florida during Hurricane Andrew. "So I thought it was wise to get out before it came."

ABC11 met Mullis at Raleigh-Durham International Airport on Tuesday night as he was getting his bags and heading back to Greenville.

"It's no fun not having electricity," he said.

Ashly Morris was also on that last Southwest Airlines flight direct from Orlando.

"I was scared at first," Morris said. "I was like, um, are we going to make it home?"

She couldn't convince her dad to come to Raleigh from Cocoa Beach though. Thankfully, she said, it's on the east side of Florida away from where Milton is expected to make landfall.

Larissa Koerschner was hoping all her relatives would do that. too.

She lives in Clayton but her parents and aunt live in the Tampa area. She said her aunt was evacuating to her parents' home farther inland.

"As a native Floridian, my heart goes out, my heart is still down there," Koerschner said.

Jennifer Martin's thoughts are there too. She is the executive director of Shop Local Raleigh. She's from Punta Gorda, Florida, and Koerschner went to high school in Port Charlotte, which is 90 minutes south of Tampa.

Her mom and other relatives are evacuating for the first time.

"From us seeing the destruction of Charlie then to Ian to Helene a week and a half ago to now seeing our family and homes, it's tough to see," Martin said.