Residents across the greater Tampa Bay region were stocking up on last-minute supplies on Tuesday to prepare for Hurricane Idalia.
The storm is projected to make landfall along Florida's Big Bend but could cause life-threatening storm surge and power outages in many parts of the state.
LIVE BLOG: The latest on Hurricane Idalia from WUSF
Maddie Joyce bought some water and canned goods at a Publix in South Tampa. This is her first experience preparing for a hurricane.
“I actually just moved down in January … so I don’t really know what I’m doing,” said Joyce with a laugh.
Joyce relocated to Tampa from Chicago, and said she plans to ride out the storm with her dog in their high-rise apartment downtown. It's located in Zone C, so was not under mandatory evacuation orders as of Tuesday morning.
Fifth-generation Floridian Courtney Koch has dealt with plenty of storms before.
“I'm of the mindset where I've seen a lot worse, but I'm also someone who really likes to be prepared and not to be caught off-guard," said Koch. "I know these things can turn.”
She too planned to stay put but has stocked up on supplies, cleared her patio of loose items and will monitor the situation.
Davis Islands resident Bryan Rose said his family was packing bags to potentially find a hotel somewhere further from Idalia’s projected path, but said they’ll stay “until the last possible moment.”
He stocked up on groceries that wouldn't go bad if he lost power, but he's more worried about flooding.
“We're in an older home 5 feet above sea level, so when you talk about [projected] 7-foot storm surges, that's our biggest concern,” Rose said.
Rose said he lined his doorways with sandbags to help keep water out.
Another shopper, Paula Hoffman lives near Bayshore Boulevard, where residents last year walked along the mudflats of Tampa Bay after Hurricane Ian sucked water away from the coast.
Hoffman didn’t take chances about sticking around then, and isn’t now. She planned to evacuate inland to a friend’s house in Polk County, where she also stayed last year.
It’s stressful preparing for back-to-back years of storms, said Hoffman.
“It's difficult because you have to make plans and everything and I'm not really good at making plans, and then I leave everything for the last minute,” Hoffman said. “But if I want to live in Florida and by the water, it's not an option.”
