JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Trees are one of the big concerns across our area as Hurricane Helene approaches. After weeks of rain, the ground is saturated with water making it more likely for trees to come toppling down.
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Mike Baldwin is one of many preparing his property before the hurricane. He maintains the grounds at the Church of Our Saviour on Mandarin Road which he said is always impacted by major storms.
“We’ve been pretty lucky with the branches. We’ve had a couple trees fall but as for flooding, we can’t avoid it. There’s nothing we can do about it except maybe control the water and send it away from into the river,” Baldwin said.
Just last week, a massive tree came crashing down before the entrance to his church. He’s worried about the storm bringing even more tree trunks to the ground.
“It fell likely due to the water. It’s pretty old too. So we got quite a few of those on this property here also,” Baldwin said. “So we’re pretty worried about it coming up the next few days, the hurricane and everything.”
Tropical Storm Force winds between 39-73 mph are expected across the Jacksonville area Thursday. Angie Enyedi with the National Weather Service says the intense winds can down trees in saturated areas quickly, which is one of the biggest concerns locally.
“This is an extended duration, several hours of winds blowing of 40 miles an hour or more, which can certainly compromise trees, compromise power lines, structures that are elevated,” Enyedi said.
To prepare now, take videos of your property before the storm hits. This will help with any insurance claims you may need to make.
Aris Papadopoulos with the Resilience Action Fund also recommends homeowners keep an inventory of valuable items in their home that way if you do have to make an insurance claim, you’ll be prepared.
“Records are very important in today’s insurance world. You know you need to have it safely kept or photographed or put in the cloud,” Papadopoulos said. “Photographs of existing appliances and furniture especially at the ground floor level.”
If a tree is on top of your house and causing a life-threatening situation, call 911, otherwise call 630-CITY to report downed trees.