Kathy Wilkins arrived at the Colonial High shelter Tuesday evening by Lynx bus, which was toting people free of charge. She usually sleeps under a highway overpass downtown. She was eager for a meal and relieved to be inside, she said.

Millions of people along Florida’s Gulf Coast are bracing for Hurricane Milton, a historically powerful storm that is expected to make landfall as soon as Wednesday evening and wallop a region still reeling from Hurricane Helene.