HOBE SOUND, Fla. — As hurricane Ian makes its way through the Gulf of Mexico, residents in the Hobe Heights neighborhood in Hobe Sound are no strangers to strong storms.
"I've been through three hurricanes here and a couple of tropical storms. I've been here 20 years," said people like Glenn Hurtzig.
Hurtzig said he's been tracking the tropics and has stocked up water and gas for his generator.
"I've been here without power for two weeks after the storm so living on a generator and a well, that's kinda tough," said Hurtzig.
The streets in front of Hurtzig's house were pretty dry Monday night but two years ago major flooding put his and his neighbors' homes at risk.
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"It was just a huge lake, it went out and covered the street, went all the way over the road," said neighbor Joe Phillips. "It just had another 4-5 inches to go and it would've been close to coming in the house."
Phillips said Martin County tore down homes to create retention ponds and installed pumps to help with flooding.
But his concern is that they haven't been put to the test of a major hurricane.
"We're 20 feet above sea level. I was never worried about flooding but that's not the way it turned out," said Phillips.
County officials also tell WPTV they have 4 high water emergency vehicles on standby in the event there is any major flooding emergency, with the help of the Martin County Sheriff's Office.
