Mark Lambie is originally from the Borderland. For a few years his family has lived in Port Richey, Florida. Last month, the family of four had to evacuate their home after Hurricane Helene moved through Florida.

Hurricane Milton churned Wednesday toward a potentially catastrophic collision along the west coast of Florida, where some residents insisted they would stay after millions were ordered to evacuate and officials warned that stragglers would face grim odds of surviving.

Amid dire warnings and predictions of giant storm surges, Floridians puzzled over how far to flee was far enough — or whether to flee at all.