Edgewater residents prepare for the worst as Hurricane Helene approaches Florida

EDGEWATER, Fla. — People are preparing for the worst in Edgewater as Hurricane Helene heads toward Florida.

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Although Volusia County is not in the storm’s direct path, Edgewater residents are recovering from last week’s flooding and said they don’t want to take any chances.

Crews could be seen clearing culverts across Edgewater on Wednesday.

“It’s in response, it’s to prepare for the storm, and it’s to prepare long-term plans and solutions with cleaning out these culverts and pipes that probably haven’t been cleaned out since Florida Shores was built,” said Edgewater Mayor Diezel Depew.

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Several homeowners showed up at the city’s sandbag site and said they’ve only just now recovered from Hurricane Ian, which made landfall two years ago this week.

“We flooded with Ian, and we lost everything. We don’t want to lose everything again. We just got everything back,” said Buffy Smith

Volusia County Emergency Management Director Clint Mecham said some effects could be felt in the county like rain and strong wind gusts.

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“If it stays on track and that’s what we’re dealing with, then we’re prepared for that, but if this thing does decide to make a last-minute track shift, that we’re prepared for that worst case scenario if it does decide to come our way,” said Mecham.

As far as our beaches go, the county said there are no severe erosion concerns for the East Coast at this point, but it is something officials will be monitoring.

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