River Park neighbors leaving Naples home to go to hotel because of Hurricane Helene

Neighbors living in one of Naples’s lowest elevation points, the River Park community, which experiences frequent flooding has decided to leave and head to a hotel.

Debra Commodore said she learned her lesson from Hurricane Ian two years ago, so she won’t be inside her home during Hurricane Helene.

“We’re scared. You know, we’re scared,” said Commodore. “We have canals, canals hitting us this way. Canal hitting us this way. We’re surrounded, we gotta go.”

The River Park Community sits near the Naples Design District between Goodlette Frank Road and US 41 and has seen its fair share of flooded roads and impassable streets.

While some Floridians prepare for Hurricane Helene, The Commodores are packing.

“Getting ready to get up out of here so that we can go to a hotel on high run,” said Commodore.

They’re leaving their River Park Community in Naples, which happens to be their birthday weekend because one storm was enough.

“Once bitten, twice shy. This was a lot. We just got in our house last May, so we’ve only been inside for a year,” said Debra Commodore.

“We were in Vegas when Ian hit us, so we had to fight our way back from Vegas,” said Debra Commodore. “That was a lot to get here. And then when we got here, there was no place, no hotels, no nothing.”

Ian left them in a hotel for over 6 months. Although they know Helene isn’t expected to bring what Ian did to River Park, they’ve learned their lesson.

“When you know better, you do better. And that’s all we trying to do,” said Commodore. “Do better because none of us want to face what we face.”

Vincent Keeys with the Collier County NAACP taught that lesson, and no one in this community will forget it.

“They have just gotten to the point that they’ve recovered from hurricane Ian,” said Keeys.

“For anyone to say that we’re going to experience the kind of hurricane that they’re talking about is enough to put us in a panic attack,” said Keeys.

“We’re just praying right now, but I can’t stay here and watch it,” said Debra Commodore.

The NAACP is passing out sandbags and tracking who stays in River Park and who is evacuating.

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