HGTV’s Brian & Mika Kleinschmidt Ask for Help After Hurricane Milton

Days after Hurricane Milton slammed into portions of Florida’s Gulf Coast, HGTV stars Brian and Mika Kleinschmidt have asked their fans for help.

Though the couple’s Tampa home sustained some damage, they’re more concerned with the countless residents whose lives were upended by Milton and, just two weeks prior, Hurricane Helene. On October 14, 2024, the “100 Day Dream Home” stars posted a joint video on social media to ask their followers to support Feeding Tampa Bay, an organization working to provide warm meals to first responders and residents impacted by the hurricanes.

“We will rebuild one day at a time and we need your help🙏,” the couple captioned their video. “Many of us are still without power and supplies are still scarce. God Bless and Thank You❤️ #floridastrong💪”

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Brian & Mika Kleinschmidt Say They’re Focused on ‘Building Up Our Community’

Though the Kleinschmidts are no strangers to hurricanes, Helene and Milton packed a mighty punch to the area where they live and work. Milton lessened from a Category 5 storm in the Gulf of Mexico to a Category 3 as it made landfall on the evening of October 9, but it still did plenty of damage.

The Kleinschmidts evacuated their home to “ride out the storm” at Brian’s parents’ house, located further inland, and returned to their house the following day and were grateful that, despite some damage to the front and back, it was still intact. Other residents weren’t as fortunate, and they pledged to help them rebuild.

Milton is responsible for 24 deaths in Florida, according to CBS News. Days after the hurricane, 10 Tampa Bay reported that flood waters were still rising in some neighborhoods, damaging homes and requiring residents to be rescued over the weekend. Many schools also remain closed, so the city’s Parks & Rec department held a free day camp for kids on October 15 at area parks.

“The only thing we love building more than houses is building up our community,” Brian said in the video they posted on October 14. “And let’s face it, right now, the Tampa Bay area needs a lot of building.”

“Yes, that’s why we’re partnering up with Feeding Tampa Bay,” Mika added. “I mean, they are out there every single day, multiple spots, helping those in need. There’s still a ton of people without electricity, water, basic essentials. So no donation is too small.”

“Yeah, we’re all in this together, so let’s build each other up,” Brian said, and Mika added, “Thank you guys. Florida strong.”

In addition to its daily efforts to combat hunger in the community, Feeding Tampa Bay said on its website that it has set up 79 emergency distributions sites “in the most affected areas,” and has already prepared and delivered nearly 17,000 meals to first responders, storm shelters, neighbors, and group homes.

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Brian & Mika Kleinschmidt ‘So Grateful’ Their Home Survived Hurricane Milton

Hurricane Milton was not as strong as some forecasters predicted, but still did plenty of damage, including ripping off the roof of the Tampa Bay Rays’ Tropicana Field and knocking out power to over three million Floridians, according to the Associated Press.

The storm also caused major damage to the MidFlorida Ampitheater, as seen in the above photo, where the Kleinschmidts attended a New Kids on the Block concert in July with a group of fellow HGTV stars to cheer on “Farmhouse Fixer” star Jonathan Knight.

The day after the powerful storm, the Kleinschmidts were relieved to find their home mostly intact, though Brian shared an Instagram Story with video of damage on their front porch, including portions of their exterior wall and ceiling completely gone. Mika pointed out they were lucky to have “no major flooding.”

In another Instagram Story with video taken at the back of their home where Mika found some of the screens on their lanai mangled, she told fans, “We just got back to our house — yes, we have a house to come back to — and I am so grateful. You can see behind me, we have a little bit of damage there, a couple of screens, the front porch, but honestly no complaints. We are safe and sound. No power still, but family’s good, dogs are good.”

She continued, “Honestly though, guys, I feel like I just want to say thank you to everybody that’s reached out to us and we’re gonna go assess the damage of the surrounding area, our neighbors, our family, our friends, and we will be posting later on how you can support this hurricane recovery from Helene and now Milton.”

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