OKEECHOBEE COUNTY, Fla. — As Hurricane Ian made landfall on Florida's west coast, some Okeechobee County residents were deciding to leave their homes for safer ground, while others made the decision to ride out the storm.
"I'm definitely getting out of here. It's too dangerous. There could be things flying around, windows could break. No, it's too dangerous," said Joseph, a resident of a mobile home park that borders the levee surrounding Lake Okeechobee.
"These trailers can be tossed around like little toys," he said.
Joseph said he planned to take himself and his cat to a nearby shelter for the night.
Hillary, another resident of the park, wasn't concerned about Hurricane Ian and planned to stay in place as the storm passed by.
"I'm going to stay. The conditions here, we'll just a little big windy - rain. We'll be fine. Maybe the power will go out," Hillary said. "We're all set - generator, water, food, everything."
Though a waterway is just a few feet from her home, Hillary wasn't concerned about the possibility of flooding.
"We got a whole bunch of people here (that are) elderly and they're staying too so we wanna keep an eye on them and make sure they're okay," she said.
The Okeechobee County Sheriff's Office instituted a curfew from 11 p.m. Wednesday to 5 a.m. Thursday. Both vehicle traffic and foot traffic will be limited to business purposes only between those times.
