Some residents say they will ‘ride it out’ despite warningspublished at 20:33 British Summer Time
Nadine Yousif
North America reporter
Michael Bobbit, a clam farmer in the island of Cedar Key on Florida’s Big Bend, said that some people in his community have decided to stay behind despite the warnings.
“The last several hours have really just been a frantic effort to beg people to leave,” Bobbit, 48, told the BBC. “Here in Florida, we sort of believe that we’ll just ride it out, it’s no big deal. But this is not one of those storms.”
He added that locals have been trying, “to sandbag as many buildings as we can,” as well as board up windows and get the island’s clam farms secured.
“The mood is sombre,” Bobbit said. “A lot of people when they’re leaving the island are hugging each other and crying, saying ‘I hope we have a home to go back to.'”