ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – Orange County Fire Rescue said it went door-to-door Tuesday, passing out informational flyers and encouraging residents in mobile home communities to consider going to a local shelter or staying with family or friends ahead of Hurricane Ian.
“We just want to make sure that everyone, and that everyone understands the significance of this hurricane, and give them the time they need to be prepared to get to those shelters before they close,” said Inez Pressler, the Assistant Fire Marshal with Orange County Fire Rescue.
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The concern they said is the chance of strong winds and possible flooding that may impact mobile homes. They’re visiting about 80 mobile home communities throughout the county.
Orange County officials issued a hurricane warning Tuesday evening for the area, which indicates that hurricane conditions are expected within the next 36 hours. Officials expect about 12-18 inches of rain when the hurricane hits and winds as high as 74-80 mph Wednesday afternoon.
Jorge Huertas lives at the Audobon Village Mobile Community in Orlando where Orange County Fire Rescue visited Tuesday – and he said he’s taking no chances.
“No, I don’t want to stay here. I’m going to Clermont to stay with family,” he said.
The same mobile home community where we saw the front office windows boarded up and disaster emergency relief plans up.
Miriam Swarckof also lives at Audobon Village. We ran into her as she was protecting her car from any possible storm impact, but she said she’s staying put for now.
“There’s no way of saying exactly where it’s going to hit, but if it moves to the right a little bit, then I will move. I will move to my son’s house,” Swarckof said.
Orange County Public Works are also closing a portion of Reams Road, from Bay Court to the Disney parking lot, tomorrow at 9 a.m. until further notice due to flooding.
County officials urge people in the following flood-prone areas to also consider evacuating:
- Lakes of Windermere at Peachtree-Reams Road
- Oasis-Reams Road
- Orla Vista/Westside Manor
- Bonny Brooke-Oakridge/John Young
At a news conference Tuesday, city of Orlando officials said a citizens information line is available for people with any storm-related questions. That number is 407-246-HELP (4357). For a list of shelters in Orange County, click here.
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