STEINHATCHEE, Fla. — As people in Taylor County prepare for the possible effects of Hurricane Ian, many in the coastal community are taking their boats out of marinas and "not taking any chances" on this storm.
David Purser lives about four hours away from Steinhatchee and docks his boat at Sea Hag Marina.
"This place will go under water. If the storm surge comes through, I've seen water five or six foot deep, boats going down this road," Purser said.
He's taking his boat out of the marina to bring it to higher ground, saying he knows how low lying the small coastal community is, and the amount of flooding they see when there's a storm surge.
Sea Hag Marina Manager Chaeli Harden has lived in Steinhatchee her entire life. She said the marina will do what they can to prepare, like protecting their clients boats by moving some to higher ground.
"Any of our boats that are not in protected areas, maybe first hit by the winds, we're moving those up out of the way and moving them to our hill," Harden said.
Steinhatchee is located right next to the Steinhatchee River with those homes and businesses near the river being more prone to flooding.
"In the past we have seen a lot of flooding here, anywhere from two inches to four feet or six feet," Harden said.
Captain Mike Baker who runs river tours and fishing charters in Steinhatchee knows firsthand how the coastal community can see major flooding.
"We've got a lot of low lying areas that are far above sea level, yet they kind of hold water, we don't have good drainage here," Baker said.
There's one off of the Steinhatchee Roll Off Site off of Highway 51 and another in Perry at the Road Department off of Highway 27.
