After staying in her home amid Hurricane Milton evacuation mandates in her area, Caroline Calloway wants the world to know that she survived.
As the storm made landfall in the Florida area, several fans and followers of the Scammer author, 32, took to social media to share their concerns about Calloway as she suddenly went silent online. “Ok is Caroline Calloway okay,” one user posted on X. “Taking a break from work every 30 minutes to see if Caroline Calloway posted,” wrote another.
Following about 12 hours of dormancy online, Calloway responded to PEOPLE’s request for comment with a selfie beside her pet cat and a simple confirmation: “I lived bitch.”
Caroline Calloway responds to PEOPLE: “I lived bitch.”.
(Calloway followed up her text with a link to KnowYourMeme.com‘s “I lived bitch” entry to explain her reference.)
The influencer — who lives in Sarasota, Fla., where she spent the night sheltering in place — also shared a screenshot of her text to PEOPLE on her Instagram Stories, assuaging worries across platforms.
Hurricane Milton made landfall near Siesta Key, Fla. at 8:30 p.m. ET Thursday night, per reports by the National Hurricane Center. The NHC warned of a “life-threatening storm surge, extreme winds, and flash flooding occurring over the central Florida peninsula.”
Caroline Calloway at home ahead of Hurricane Milton’s landfall.
Courtesy of Caroline Calloway
Hurricane Milton — which has since been downgraded to a category 1 hurricane — knocked out the power in millions of homes. A recent update from the National Hurricane Center said the center of the storm has now moved off of Florida and into the Atlantic Ocean.
Ahead of the hurricane, Calloway faced backlash as she refused to evacuate her beachfront home, despite living in a mandatory evacuation zone. On Tuesday, Oct. 8, Calloway shared a video of herself at home, beginning by claiming, “I’m going to die,” though she later clarified to PEOPLE that the quote was “taken out of context.”
Calloway spoke to PEOPLE on Wednesday, Oct. 9, ahead of the hurricane’s landfall, to further explain her reasons for staying at her beachfront property. For one, she emphasized that she cannot drive and the airports around her are closed. She maintained that she had no intention of evacuating to shelter at her mother’s inland home since she had a “very traumatic” experience there during Hurricane Ian in 2022.
She says they went three days without water or electricity, and when they eventually ran low on food, the U.S. military had to rescue them. During the evenings, Calloway told PEOPLE she and her mom heard gunshots.
Caroline Calloway.
Caroline Calloway/Instagram
The writer also wanted to remain in her home — which she clarified is “three stories up in a building with hurricane-grade windows and three-foot thick concrete walls” — in case her elderly neighbors needed help.
“There are a few more sort of able-bodied young people who are staying to help, but I’m definitely the youngest and the most able-bodied among them,” she explained.
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