Mark your bodies so we can ID you

PERRY, Fla. — The Taylor County sheriff has a grim warning for residents who have chosen to ignore evacuation orders and wait out Hurricane Helene at home: Mark yourself with your information so officials can identify you later.

Taylor County expects to take a direct hit from the Category 4 storm, which is expected to make landfall Thursday night. Sheriff Wayne Padgett said the county will be “in the dead center of” the storm.

Taylor County, in northern Florida near the Big Bend region, is home to 20,000 residents, Padgett said.

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As in other spots in Florida, mandatory evacuations were ordered for Taylor County, but Padgett estimated that as much as half of his population is choosing to stay put.

It’s too late now for them to change their minds and try to head out, Padgett said, who instead told them to “hunker down, stay put.” He also asked them to “take a black Magic Marker, write your name, your Social Security number, everything on your arm” so officials can identify residents in worst-case scenarios.

“I don’t like telling people that, but it is going on,” Padgett said, adding that those in “low-lying areas” face “a death threat” from Helene.

“They’re calling for 18- or 20-foot storm surge. We’ve never had a storm surge like this in this county,” he said. “You can kind of hide from the wind, but you can’t hide from that water.”

Most of the people who have chosen not to evacuate are farther inland and in less threatening situations than those along the coast, he said.

Helene is forecast to be one of the biggest storms to hit the Gulf Coast, with winds that are expected to reach up to 125 mph. Tornado warnings have also been issued within the storm zone.

“I’ve lived here my whole life, and I’ve never been worried about a storm. I am worried about this storm,” Padgett said.

He said he’s so worried that he thinks it’s safer for residents to get to shelters in other counties. Taylor County didn’t open a shelter because it is in the storm’s direct path, he said, and officials worried that those in the shelter could be in a dangerous situation.

Uber has offered to take Taylor County residents to shelters outside the county, Padgett said.

“Every agency from the state is here to help us try to get through this, this storm that we’ll be taking a direct hit on,” Padgett said. He said power crews are lined up waiting for the storm to pass and food trucks are available for those in need.

“We got everything ready,” Padgett said, adding that it’s a “big waiting game right now.”

Helene is the third major storm within a year for Taylor County, Padgett said, “But we’re going to endure. We’re going to get better. Just take a deep seat and hang on.”