"Made it here safe:" Hurricane Irma forces Milwaukee native to evacuate Miami home

FLORIDA -- Mandatory evacuations have been issued for many counties in south Florida. Sam Ross, a Milwaukee native living in Miami Beach, says he was reluctant to leave sunny Florida, but after seeing the wrath of Hurricane Irma, he is happy he did.

"It was busy, super busy. The streets were packed, people trying to get to the gas station, the stores," said Ross.

The Miami Beach DJ flew home after seeing the devastation of the massive hurricane.

Sam Ross

"I'm thinking, oh, that can happen to Miami," said Ross.

The Caribbean took the brunt of the storm; homes destroyed, the lush greenery wiped out, and lives lost.

"Being stuck in a catastrophe is not fun. It's very, very scary," said Joey Dubois, lives on St. Thomas.

FOX6 News spoke with Joey Dubois on Tuesday, September 5th as he awaited the storm on St. Thomas.

Joey Dubois

"Send your positive thoughts, your prayers, anything you can do," Dubois said.

We are happy to report, the positivity paid off. Dubois survived the storm and snapped some photos of the destruction.

"I'm going to wait and see how everything is before I go back home," said Ross.

Back in Milwaukee, Ross now waits, not sure what to expect in the coming days -- but he's confident he did the right thing.

"I feel like one of the lucky ones. I made it home. I made it here safe," said Ross.

Ross says now that he's home, he's looking forward to cheering on the Green Bay Packers with his family. He is asking for thoughts and prayers for those friends who did not leave Miami.