Hunkering in a car. Belongings washed away. Natural disasters leave people experiencing homelessness with few options

Ahead of Hurricane Milton, many families in Florida were hunkering down in their homes or packing up their belongings to evacuate.

Jessica had only her car. She prepared to brave the storm with her children, age 12 and 3, with apple juice, clothes in plastic bags, squishy Spiderman toys and flower-printed blankets, provided by her daughter’s school.

“When most people are getting to a safe place, I’m literally begging anybody… random strangers, people on Facebook, ‘Can I stay with you? Can these kids come with you?’ Because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” said Jessica, who CNN is not fully identifying for safety reasons.

As the hurricane churned over central Florida, the family found some comfort in music on the radio, including her children’s favorite Billie Eilish song.

Jessica had left a domestic violence shelter a month before the hurricane. She said she tried to get into multiple hurricane shelters, but the ones nearby were all full, and others were five hours away.

“You can’t get to any of the hurricane shelters if you have a car that barely drives and you have no gas money to put in it,” said Jessica. “So, it’s just like you’re stuck with your fingers crossed with two children.”

Unfortunately, Jessica’s experience during Hurricane Milton was not unique.

During two back-to-back deadly hurricanes this fall, some of the most vulnerable Americans didn’t have anywhere to turn and few resources to reach safety. In western North Carolina, at least two unhoused individuals in Buncombe County passed away during Hurricane Helene, according to Homeward Bound, a nonprofit that works to prevent and end homelessness.

Angels of Hope Outreach Ministries co-founders David and Kelly Long say they work directly with over 1,100 unhoused people on Florida’s Treasure Coast to help them find a way out of homelessness.

“There’s no transportation for them to get (to shelters). So, a lot of them have to ride it out in the actual hurricane itself,” said David Long.

The Longs said one woman in Indian River County told them she was living in her tent when Milton hit and was frightened by “shaking noise everywhere.” She said she got out just in time before everything started blowing away.

The Longs believe people were afraid to go into the shelters partially because of a new Florida law that went into effect October 1.

While there are exceptions, it states people are not allowed to sleep in public property and buildings and will only be allowed to sleep in designated areas. The Florida governor’s office website states the law places unhoused individuals in temporary shelters rather than allowing people to camp in public places.

“Now they’re like, ‘If I go to the shelter, am I going to be arrested?’ They think there’s going to be police presence there,” said Kelly Long. “This new law has profoundly affected them mentally. We really had a hard time even convincing the 20% (of unhoused people who went to shelters) that things were going to be OK.”

Many unhoused people said they weren’t comfortable leaving behind their outdoor camps, Kelly Long added, fearing their belongings would be stolen.

In Asheville, North Carolina, ahead of Hurricane Helene, the situation was different.

Many people experiencing homelessness made it to shelters before the storm hit, Homeward Bound WNC Outreach Program Manager Mike DeSerio told CNN, though he says they don’t have specific numbers.

The nonprofit credits the use of a Code Purple policy before the storm with that success. The code, declared by a local shelter committee or group, is usually for freezing weather situations, which happen often in Asheville.

It allowed people in Asheville to stay in a shelter without ID during Helene – and take a free bus to get there, according to DeSerio. The fact that the storm followed days of rain may have also helped, the organization said, as many people were keen for the opportunity to stay dry.

But Homeward Bound said the severity of Hurricane Helene took them by surprise – meaning some individuals may not have tried to get to a shelter ahead of time.

It’s a potentially recurring problem, as rapid intensification of hurricanes has become more common due to climate change.

Communicating adequate warnings to unhoused people before a major storm is another challenge underscored by Milton and Helene.

Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, says there are “absolutely” unhoused people who were missed during the recent hurricanes.

“There are many people who are living outside the grid if you will,” Whitehead said. “So, they’re living in woods, and sometimes in abandoned buildings and they don’t have televisions or cellphones that can give them the alerts. And so, when it’s time to evacuate, those are the people that get left behind.”

Mary Frances Kenion, the vice president of Training and Technical Assistance of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, believes the field needs to prioritize taking a proactive approach rather than a reactive approach to natural disasters.

“As we are grappling with climate change, I think that communities everywhere have to make a commitment to planning for people experiencing homelessness in the context of a disaster preparedness response and recovery framework on an ongoing basis, because we literally never know when the next disaster is going to hit and be catastrophic,” she said.

Christina Haney Reagan’s sister was living in a tent in Asheville when Helene hit.

As the extent of the devastation became clear, Reagan spent three days fearing her sister’s camp was swept away in the floods and that she had drowned.

“It was a form of torture. Not knowing where your loved one is, not being able to contact them. I mean even if they do things that you don’t agree with and stuff, you still want to make sure that they’re OK,” said Reagan. “I needed to hear her voice so bad.”

Luckily, Reagan’s sister was found alive on day four – she had been able to take shelter with her boyfriend.

But her sister said most of her belongings were washed away or stolen in the hurricane.

“She was left pretty much without anything. I don’t even think she still has her tent,” Reagan said.

Other families still haven’t heard back from their loved ones.

Linda King told CNN her brother-in-law, who she believes was most likely living outdoors in Asheville during Helene, is still missing.

One of her family members has been searching all over Asheville for him, talking to rangers and other unhoused people, but to no avail, she said.

King said she’s spending a lot of time on social media trying to track down his whereabouts.

“It’s very upsetting. It’s very frustrating,” King told CNN. “It’s definitely something we’re always kind of thinking about and worrying about.”

King said she wants more awareness brought to this issue: “I think maybe some people don’t really see homeless people as people or don’t realize that they often have family members that love them.”