As people in the Big Bend prepare for Idalia, the specter of Hurricane Michael isn’t far away. Local leaders are hoping Idalia’s impact won’t be as devastating as Michael’s, but they’re urging residents to prepare for the worst.
The people who lead Tallahassee and Leon County have declared a state of emergency…established shelters at four schools…and arranged for help re-establishing power after the storm. What they can’t control is citizen preparedness. But Tallahassee Mayor John Dailey says he could see people getting ready on Monday.
“You just drive around town, you see everyone’s getting gas, you’re starting to have a couple of lines but nothing too crazy in our community," he said. "Yeah, the grocery stores are packed, everyone’s buying what they need and getting their medications -- which is a great sign, that means that people are paying attention, they’re getting prepared for the storm, whatever the impact may be, they’re taking care of business, and that’s what we need to be doing right now.”
Big Bend residents are unlikely to forget the destructiveness of Hurricane Michael in 2018. Although Michael didn’t do its worst in Tallahassee, it wrought havoc in neighboring counties. Leon County emergency management director Kevin Peters predicts similar impacts from Idalia.
“We had Hurricane Michael in 2018 and Hurricane Hermine in 2016, and it would be very similar to those situations in Leon County," he said. "We might see some winds that are a little bit higher, but it would probably be similar to those situations -- if people were in Leon County for that, if they remember those storms -- the higher winds, some of the treefall -- it’s going to be a very similar-type situation.”
Either way, officials say it’s important to prepare for potential power outages, flooding and storm damage.
Idalia’s track remains uncertain, and officials say its impacts will be felt well outside the forecast cone, which predicts the direction of the storm’s eye. Peters advises residents to visit leonready.com for guidance in preparing for the storm, enduring it and recovering from it.
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