Vehicles drive along a flooded street as Hurricane Helene churns offshore on September 26, 2024 in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
The Taylor County sheriff has a grim warning for residents who have chosen to ignore evacuation orders and wait out Hurricane Helene at home: Mark yourself with your information so officials can identify you later.
Taylor County is expecting to take a direct hit from the Category 4 storm that's expected to make landfall Thursday night. Sheriff Wayne Padgett said the county will be "in the dead center of" the storm.
The northern Florida county near the Big Bend region is home to 20,000 residents, Padgett said.
Like other spots in Florida, mandatory evacuations were ordered for Taylor County, but Padgett estimated that as many as half of his population is choosing to stay put.
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It's too late now for those residents to change their minds and try to head, Padgett said, instead telling them to "hunker down, stay put." The sheriff's also asking them to "take a black magic marker, write your name, your Social Security number, everything on your arm" so officials can identify residents in a worst-case scenario.
"I don't like telling people that, but it is going on," Padgett said, adding that those in "low-lying areas" are facing "a death threat" from Helene.
"They're calling for 18- or 20-foot storm surge. We've never had a storm surge like this in this county," he said. "You can kind of hide from the wind, but you can't hide from that water."
Most of the people who have chosen not to evacuate are further inland and in a less threatening situation than those along the coast, he said.
Helene is forecast to be one of the biggest storms to hit the Gulf Coast, with winds that are expected to reach up to 125 mph. Tornado warnings have also been issued within the storm zone.
"I've lived here my whole life, and I've never been worried about a storm. I am worried about this storm,” Padgett said.
He said he's so worried about Helene that he thinks it's safer for residents to get to a shelter in another county. Taylor County did not open a shelter because it is in the storm’s direct path, the sheriff said, and officials worried about those in the shelter being in a dangerous situation.
Uber has offered to take Taylor County residents to shelters outside the county, Padgett said.
"Every agency from the state is here to help us try to get through this, this storm that we'll be taking a direct hit on," Padgett said. He said power crews are lined up waiting for the storm to pass and food trucks are available for those in need.
"We got everything ready," Padgett said, adding that it's a "big waiting game right now."
Helene is the third major storm within a year for Taylor County, Padgett said, "But we're going to endure. We're going to get better. Just take a deep seat and hang on."
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