Fans expressed worry on social media as Hallmark star Catherine Bell shared videos from her Clearwater Beach, Florida, home of Hurricane Milton’s landfall just south of where she lived. One person commented on one video: “Go inside immediately… Be careful!!” The star was quick to assure fans that she was fine, as she shared more updates throughout the evening.
Hurricane Milton grew to a massive Category 5 in the Gulf of Mexico, but it was down to a Category 3 once it made landfall near Siesta Key, Florida, CBS News reported. Even at that status, it was still a dangerous storm.
Bell did not evacuate her home as Hurricane Milton approached. In posts before the hurricane hit, she assured her followers that she was not in a mandatory evacuation zone, and was well prepared with a whole-home generator. According to Google Maps, Siesta Key — near where the hurricane made landfall — is about 100 miles south of Clearwater Beach.
But Bell’s property did sustain some damage, which she was quick to address.
Bell Shared Videos of Strong Winds & Rain as She Drained Her Pool to Avoid Flooding
GettyCatherine Bell is pictured at a TCA Press Tour event in 2018.
Bell is well known by Hallmark fans for her lead role on “Good Witch.” She also starred in the popular 2023 movie, “Christmas on Cherry Lane.”
In one post early in the evening on October 9, Bell recorded a video as she stood outside in the rain and strong winds. She said that her pool was overflowing again, and she had just drained it three or four inches a few hours earlier. She also explained that her property slopes away from her house, which means that floodwaters tend to flow away from her home.
“Very fortunate here,” she told her followers.
One person commented that she should have evacuated.
“Dude!!! Be careful go inside immediately and get under the couch, also get a boat. What are you doing you should’ve left Be careful!!” they wrote. Bell replied: “hahaha wow take a deep breath 😂 I’m in a NON flood/NON evacuation area. If the whole state tries to leave there would still be gridlock 😜 we actually have friends staying with us. Whole house generator. Tons of food 🙏🏼🙏🏼❤️❤️ hunkered down.”
In a previous post, she told followers that because she has a working whole-house generator, she would be letting friends stay over if they lost power or had any storm damage.
She Said They Were Fortunate the Hurricane Hit South of Clearwater Beach
In an Instagram story later in the evening on October 9, Bell was safe in her home as she talked to her followers.
“So the storm is actually hitting land at the moment, but it’s gone south, so it looks like it’s hitting Sarasota, and Clearwater may have really, really looked out, which is really good for us, bad for the guys south of us,” she shared. “But since Clearwater was just hit 12 days ago, I’m really glad for my friends on the beach… At the moment it’s just, it’s windy and it’s raining a bit, it’s really not terrible. It’s supposed to be windy for the next hour…”
She Shared Videos of a Massive Fallen Tree & Some Flooding
As the evening progressed, Bell opened one of her doors and briefly filmed outside. “It’s really not that bad,” she told her followers. “So we may have looked out.”
She then followed up on her Instagram Story with a photo showing that a large oak tree in her backyard had fallen over and into her pool.
“So sad 😞,” she wrote. “BUT it’s not on my house!! Thank god! 🙏🙏🙏❤️”
Late in the evening of October 9, she shared another video on her Instagram Story of her using a shop vac to get the water out of her home.
“Honestly it could be much worse!” she gratefully wrote.
Earlier that day, Bell shared a post to help other people in the area get cell phone service in case towers and WiFI are out.
The post explains how to connect an iPhone 14 or newer to satellite service. The option is available on iOS 18, she wrote.
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