Prepare for the worst and pray for the best is the mantra of those in Steinhatchee, a riverside town that meets the Gulf just north of Cedar Key. It's expected to experience major storm surge from Hurricane Idalia.
Taylor County commissioner Michael Newman is urging residents to get to safety.
“Our county is under a mandatory evacuation,” said Newman. “There is a shelter that is going to be in the county, but the emphasis really is for folks who can and will to evacuate the area.”
Jody Griffis is part owner of Steinhatchee Marina at Deadman Bay. He and his team have been working diligently to prepare for the storm.
The National Hurricane Center is predicting 10-to-15-foot storm surge from Yankeetown to Aucilla River.
“I don’t think we’ve encountered this particular territory before. Ultimately, we’re hoping [that] to batten down the hatches is good enough. We’ll see what happens come tomorrow morning.” said Griffis.
He said he knows some who have fled on their boats to safer waters, but others, with no place to go, have decided to stay.
Steinhatchee has a prominent scalloping community. It brings tourism, a vital part of the town's economy.
WUFT · Steinhatchee preps for Idalia
Though there's no good time for a hurricane to hit, Captain Crystal Pesek, who owns Crystal Sea Charters, said this storm is coming at a particularly unfortunate time: right as scallop season comes to a close.
“With this being our last big boom weekend,” said Pesek, “Labor Day weekend, we always rely on this, this will impact us. Even though it’s going to come through, the waters will be churned up, be kind of dirty. It will take a little bit for the water to settle down.”
Pesek said even though Idalia will cause large monetary losses to her business, she is still optimistic because of the bountiful scallop season she experienced this summer.