CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — Clay County residents living near Black Creek are battening down the hatches in anticipation of severe flooding resulting from Hurricane Ian.
On Monday afternoon at the Black Creek Boat Ramp, we ran into two gentlemen pulling their jet skis out of the water.
One of them, Eric Jaffe, grew up in Miami and experienced the wrath of Hurricane Andrew firsthand, so he’s no stranger to natural disasters.
That’s why he made sure to get his watercraft out of the creek ahead of Ian’s arrival.
The home he recently bought near the river was flooded with three feet of water during Hurricane Irma, despite being on 10-foot stilts.
“The beautiful part for us, in the long run, was that everything got remodeled so that we got a good house. So, hopefully, it doesn’t get messed up this time around,” said Jaffe.
During Hurricane Irma, the creek rose 28 feet.
This time it’s expected to rise 20 feet.
County officials have strongly recommended residents living around the creek bed evacuate, but not everyone is heeding the warning.
Dennis McCleary and his fiancé Jordan Hedges spent the day loading up their valuables into a U-Haul in preparation for Ian.
This is their first storm in the creek-side home, but they know what to expect.
Dennis showed us where the river crested during Hurricane Irma, just about a foot below the base of his home.
Even though the waters aren’t expected to rise that high this time around the couple isn’t taking any chances and has devised an escape plan if the need arises.
“I’ve got kayaks and I’ve got paddle boards on the gazebo right now. We’re about to tie them up into the overhead of the gazebo. You see two jet skis I’ve got set up here in the background and this is going to be crazy to a lot of people, but this is my deal. I’m going to unhook these jet skis out here with a trailer anchored to the ground and we’ll tie off ropes to the upper deck. And if I need transportation, I’ve got two nice jet skis,” said McCleary.
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