2023-08-30 02:43:27
Despite the approaching hurricane Idalia and the evacuation orders that apply on the east coast of Florida, John Paul Nohelj does not intend to leave his village of Steinhatchee. Other inhabitants leave, not without having protected what can be.
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Sitting near his house, a fragile wooden hut that seems ready to collapse, the septuagenarian is not afraid.
“If you live near water, you’re going to get wet from time to time,” he adds, downplaying the threat of the coming storm.
Its region of marshes and low vegetation overlooking the Gulf of Mexico, where he has lived for more than 20 years, is for him the best place on earth.
“I’ve lived all my life on the Florida coast and this is where I like to be,” explains this man who breathes with the help of an oxygen cylinder.
Idalia could become “extremely dangerous” before making landfall on Wednesday as a Category 3 (out of 5) hurricane, US authorities warn.
In Steinhatchee, a quiet town of 1000 inhabitants bathed by a river of the same name which flows a little further into the sea, dozens of people are fine-tuning their preparations before the passage of Idalia.
The majority of them will evacuate the area, but they try to protect or shelter their belongings before leaving.
Stephanie Moon, who lives by the river, loaded all the furniture she could into a moving truck, with the help of several friends.
The 37-year-old woman and her dog Molly head north to Georgia to join friends and family.
“I just hope our beautiful little town is still here after the hurricane and hopefully we’ll be back somewhere that isn’t completely devastated,” she says.
In the heart of the village, a few inhabitants are stocking up in the only grocery store that has remained open, near a gas station. As is often the case in such cases, the commercial windows have been caulked with chipboard panels to protect them from the wind.
But in Steinhatchee, it is above all the floods that are feared.
The swell formed by the winds could cause the waters to rise up to 4.5 m in this area, according to the National Hurricane Center.
In the marina, Jody Griffis and some of his employees have been working against the clock for several hours.
They have just raised 25 rental boats in a large metal structure, hoping that the water does not reach them and wash them away.
“I hope it will be intact when I come back on Thursday and that no one will be hurt,” slips the co-owner of the marina, 56, who plans to return quickly to help clean up the village.
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