They thought they were safe — until their Florida complex flooded

Residents of an apartment complex in Clearwater, Florida, were told to leave by the management company after the building was flooded by Hurricane Milton.

CLEARWATER, Fla. — Two days after Hurricane Milton flooded The Standard at 2690 Apartments, representatives from the company that manages the 16-acre complex showed up Friday and barred tenants from returning to their homes.

“We’ll send out an email blast or text messages to let you know when it’s safe and we can send, like, scheduled times for you guys to come back once they tell us it’s OK, but you cannot hang out here,” Angela Lentsch of Infinity BH told a group of tenants gathered in the parking lot. “You can’t stay here. We just, we need you guys to basically disperse.” 

This was not the message the tenants received from Lentsch before Milton made landfall Wednesday night in Siesta Key, some 70 miles south of Clearwater, and roared across the midsection of Florida, killing at least 16 people, swamping thousands of homes and businesses, and doing damage valued in potentially billions of dollars.

"We cannot tell you whether or not you should evacuate or not," Lentsch wrote in an email that tenants received Monday and was shared with NBC News. "Please do what is best for you and your family."

Lentsch also warned residents that Milton could "directly impact our area and may bring heavy rain, strong winds, and potential flooding" and provided some tips on how to prepare for the storm.

https://www.nbcnews.com/weather/hurricanes/thought-safe-florida-complex-flooded-rcna175039

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