As the saying goes: necessity is the mother of the invention. And although at first glance it looks like it might be an impromptu Halloween decoration, the black plastic bags that cover Brittany Vidal's home in Jacksonville, Florida, serve the purpose of keeping the water from Dorian's expected flooding out of her home.
"Hopefully our barricade will do something for us this year," Vidal told local Jacksonville TV station WJAX this week as Floridians up and down the east coast of the Sunshine State prepared for Hurricane Dorian's arrival.
Vidal explained to WJAX reporter Bridgette Matter how she wrapped her home, situated in Davis Shores, in heavy-duty plastic secured with duct tape and almost 300 sandbags.
"If it works, it’s totally worth it," Vidal said, adding that she's hopeful her creativity and skills will be enough to withstand the floods she's anticipating.
Matter, the local reporter, posted a photo on Twitter showing the finished product, the Florida home wrapped in black plastic all the way around, to a height of about 5 feet.
This person in Davis Shores PLASTIC WRAPPED THEIR HOME. Reinforced with duct tape & sandbags. What the #Florida #Dorian #wx #hurricaneprep
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While Vidal is betting that his project will work, other neighbors were seen leaving their homes , as the area has seen catastrophic flooding in the past with Hurricane Matthew and Hurricane Irma.
The region, classified as Zone A and together with Zone B is home to about 149,000 people, is under evacuation notice due to the expected flooding.
Similarly, almost an hour away to the south, residents of St. Agustin were preparing very similarly to receive the onslaught of Hurricane Dorian.
“We don’t have anywhere to go. We live in a peninsula (…) We are in one of those towns that when a hurricane comes close to us, with a 6-8 foot surge, yes, everything is going to flood, ”said Steven Drake, a St. Augustine resident.
“We don’t have anywhere to go. We live in a peninsula (…) We are in one of those towns that when a hurricane comes close to us, with a 6-8 foot surge, yes, everything is going to flood, ”said Steven Drake, a St. Augustine resident.
Since the past few days, it is common to observe the residents of what is the oldest city in America, use sandbags on doors, and cover with protective gear against floodings their residences and businesses.
Dorian remains an extremely dangerous storm, despite weakening to the Category 2 force with maximum sustained winds of 110 mph.
Dorian's relentless assault on the Bahamas has included winds of more than 185 mph that have killed at least five people, torn roofs off houses, overturned cars and caused widespread devastation.
As the powerful storm slowly approached the United States, officials continued to enact emergency situations on the East coast from Florida to Virginia. AccuWeather meteorologists continue to believe that the center of Dorian will remain east of Florida.
And as for Vidal, it remains to be seen whether her DIY plastic wrap will get the job done . As Matter noted in her TV report, "We're all curious to see if this is actually going to work." She also vowed to follow up.
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