TAYLOR COUNTY, Fla. – Keaton Beach is a few miles southwest of Perry in Taylor County, where News 6′s Erik Sandoval and Megan Neeley were Wednesday evening.
Right now the Gulf of Mexico is as smooth as glass, but Hurricane Helene is on its way. Wind speeds right now are only 10 mph in Keaton Beach. That will change. This part of Florida’s Big Bend region is a potential target for landfall.
Homes along the Gulf are built on stilts, prepared to take on storm surge. The homes likely have been there a while. They are weathered and have survived multiple storms.
But residents in the community do not appear to be taking chances and have heeded the evacuation call. Homes are boarded up and there are very few people around. Many are headed inland to Perry, where hotels are full, but officials are telling even people in Perry to head further inland.
[RELATED: CONE, MODELS, SATELLITE | COUNTY-BY-COUNTY impacts | TIMELINE: When Helene will impact Central Fla. | Here’s what the ‘dirty side’ of a storm means | LIVE RADAR | Watch vs. Warning | DOWNLOAD: WKMG-TV free hurricane app]
We checked and it’s tough to find a hotel room within a hundred-mile radius of this area.
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