JFRD combines efforts with the Red Cross for a proactive approach to hurricane season

JACKSONVILLE, Fla — Last year, hurricanes Ian and Nicole caused severe flooding and damage from Jacksonville all the way down the coast of Northeast Florida.

Now, on Saturday, Jacksonville Fire and Rescue and the Red Cross visited the Ribault Manor neighborhood in north Jacksonville, to hand out hurricane preparedness kits to a community previously hit hard by severe weather.

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“This is a community that historically has an issue with flooding during major weather events like hurricanes, so today we’re out here being proactive,” said Craig Fry with JFRD.

The buckets included basic essentials like masks, sanitary wipes, flashlights, and first aid kits, all essentials that make a large difference in hurricane preparedness.

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“We all know when there’s a hurricane 24 hours away, you can’t find water, you can’t find basic supplies in the store,” said Fry. “It creates a sense of anxiety. So we wanna eliminate that and we want families to be prepared now.”

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The buckets also included information about Jacksonville evacuation shelters available to residents.

In just about 45 minutes, 20 volunteers handed out the hurricane preparedness kits to around 200 homes, getting ahead of the dangerous weather before it strikes.

Related read: The American Red Cross is working with JFRD to keep the community prepared this hurricane season

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