Actor Tom Cruise and author Stephen King are among a host of celebrities who own homes in Florida as the state braces for Hurricane Milton making landfall.
Hurricane Milton, a Category 5 storm, is expected to make landfall along Florida’s west-central coast by Thursday morning. The National Hurricane Center has predicted maximum sustained winds of almost 160 mph, with some more powerful gusts.
As a result of the approaching storm, President Joe Biden has postponed a trip to Germany and Angola to monitor Milton’s arrival, and he is urging those under evacuation orders to leave immediately as “a matter of life and death.”
A map produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration shows that parts of central Florida could be inundated by up to 18 inches of rainfall over the next few days as the storm crashes into the Sunshine State.
With Florida long holding favor as a destination for those wanting to enjoy its abundant sunshine, Cruise and King are among a host of celebrities who own homes in or near areas expected to be devastated by the incoming hurricane.
Mission: Impossible star Cruise is known to own a home near the “worldwide spiritual headquarters” of the Church of Scientology in Clearwater—a mere half-hour drive from Tampa. Wrestling legend Terry “Hulk Hogan” Bollea is also reported to own a property in the area.
More than two decades ago, It writer King—who spends much of his time in his native Maine—purchased a home in Casey Key on Florida’s west coast.
TV personality Duane Chapman, better known as “Dog the Bounty Hunter,” was reported earlier this year to have snapped up a home in the Tampa Bay area. Wrestler-turned-actor John Cena owns a property to the north in Land O’Lakes.
Further upstate is Ocala, where actor and qualified pilot John Travolta owns a sprawling property complete with two runways for his private jets.
Newsweek has contacted representatives of Cruise, King, Travolta, Chapman, Bollea and Cena via email for comment.
While the stars have homes in the area, a number of them also own properties in other cities and states. They also have the means to travel out ahead of Hurricane Milton making landfall—a move that has been deemed necessary by authorities.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis began issuing emergency orders over the weekend, which are now in force across 51 counties, according to CBS News.
Speaking at a briefing on Tuesday about where Milton would make landfall DeSantis said: “I think the most recent models have it somewhere in Manatee County, just south of Tampa Bay.
“But I would just tell people, one, we’re going to have impacts far beyond wherever the eye of the storm is. Two, you can make landfall anywhere from Citrus County down into Southwest Florida.”
Referring to the affected areas, DeSantis added: “Now is the time to execute your [evacuation] plan…but that time is running out.”
States of emergency have already been declared for parts of Florida and Georgia.
The National Weather Service in Tampa Bay said Milton would be “a historic storm for the west coast of Florida,” adding it could be the worst to hit the area in over a century.
Millions of Florida residents were earlier urged to evacuate, with Tampa Mayor Jane Castor commenting: “There’s never been one like this. Helene was a wake-up call; this is literally catastrophic. And I can say without any dramatization whatsoever: If you choose to stay in one of those evacuation areas, you’re gonna die.”
On September 26, Hurricane Helene crashed into Florida as a Category 4 storm, causing 225 deaths as it made its way across multiple states across the Southeast.