Jacksonville residents prepare for Hurricane Ian

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — With hurricane Ian expected bring heavy rains and potential flooding to Jacksonville and surrounding areas, Action News Jax set out to see how residents in the flood-prone riverside area are preparing this storm.

With hurricane Ian expected bring heavy rains and potential flooding to Jacksonville and surrounding areas, we wanted to see how residents in the flood-prone riverside area are preparing this storm.

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“Riverside, they always get messed up pretty bad,” says Richard Gavin.

Gavin, who lives near Riverside says he’s nervous about what the next few days might bring when the Jacksonville area feels the effects of hurricane Ian. The reason people here are worried is because they remember what hurricane Irma did to the riverside area in 2017.

“The last time the hurricane came from the west instead of coming from the east it seemed to do more damage,” says Gavin.

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In 2017, Irma barreled up the west side of the state, but still drenched the Jacksonville area.

The storm created heavy flooding, particularly in the riverside area. The city of Jacksonville leaders today encouraged residents to take hurricane Ian seriously and prepare for a major storm. Action News Jax asked Jacksonville mayor Lenny Curry, what the city is doing to make sure Ian doesn’t have long-lasting effects like Irma did.

“Our public workers are doing what they always do, they step up. Which is cleaning ditches and preparing area’s around the city,” says Curry.

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Curry added that the city prepares for events like this all year long.

“Recent budgets have reflected resiliency and preparation for this type of event,” says Curry. Action News Jax spoke with Jordan Hellman who says people should never take hurricanes lightly

“You should definitely take everything under this aspect seriously because it’s unpredictable and it happens fast,” says Hellman.

He adds when storms like this come his way, it always concerns him.

“I have family members out here, I have people out here that I care about. They are a lot closer to it than I am so that is really my main concern,” says Hellman.

Mayor Curry went on to say people need to prepare for hurricane Ian, but they should also know that city officials are ready to help if this storm does serious damage.

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