Florida’s east coast is prepped and as ready as it can be for Hurricane Dorian’s impacts.
Brevard County
In Brevard County, businesses and homes boarded up, gusty winds and gas stations without fuel are all common realities throughout the area Monday with Dorian just over 105 miles away from the east coast.
For people who live in Titusville and surrounding communities, conditions are picking up. And along the Indian River, final preparations by people who live there are winding down.
“We battened down the hatches, taped up the windows, boarded everything up,” said Shawn Housseal in Titusville.
Housseal is worried about wind and rain from Dorian that the current Category 4 hurricane could bring.
“We will get some water, but hopefully it won’t be enough to come in the doors,” Housseal said.
A few minutes away, shop owner Greg Aker took down his awnings to ensure they don’t fly away in the storm.
“Even the ones that are close call usually do a little bit of damage,” Aker said. “So our job right now, we gotta shore up two more roofs and then go home and wait.”
Volusia County
In Volusia County, there are people looking out for others, volunteering their time to help save lives in the wake of Hurricane Dorian. We spoke to a man shuttling people who can’t move to shelters themselves. While some neighbors say they will ride out the storm at home, others are looking for shelters as their place to stick out the effects of Dorian.
Walter Charette, a public transportation driver, said he is sticking around Daytona Beach Monday, making it his mission to help those who don’t have any way of getting to a shelter.
“This has been a lifesaver for many people, not just this but just in general,” Charette said. “You don’t know how many times I get people telling me that I don’t know how I would do this if the service wasn’t available because they can’t get around on their own.”
Charrette told us he worries too many people will wait to see what happens with Dorian before making important decision of where they will stay safe from the storm.
“People are gonna wait to the last minute,” Charette said. “Everybody’s waiting to see what the storm does.”
Tim Hoot, shelter manager at Mainland High School, said he is prepared to meet everyone’s needs who enters the school shelter. Hoot and other shelter leaders hope people decide early enough to evacuate from their homes.
“Being that we can provide that safe environment and then also work with them to meet their needs, much like we do with students,” Hoot said. “And that’s our goal that we are going to have for this three-day event.”
Volusia County might put a curfew in place in place 6 p.m. Tuesday.