Baton Rouge native in Florida prepares to ride out Hurricane Ian

BATON ROUGE, La. (WAFB) - As thousands of people evacuate Florida ahead of Hurricane Ian’s landfall, one Baton Rouge native is prepared to ride it out.

Chris D’Antoni and his family moved from Louisiana to St. Petersburg, Florida a few years back.

He says he thought his days of dealing with storms of this magnitude were over, but now his home stands in Ian’s path.

“You never know. They’re always unpredictable,” D’Antoni said.

D’Antoni tore down his fence and used it to board up the windows around his home to prepare for the storm.

As of now, he’s not sure what to expect, but he says his past experiences in Baton Rouge have him prepared for anything.

“There’s always the anxiety. When we got the house, they said we weren’t in a flood zone, but going through the flood of 2016 in Baton Rouge, it should tell you that just because you’re not in a flood zone, doesn’t mean you won’t get flooded,” D’Antoni said.

D’Antoni says his motivation behind staying is good intentions. He says he wants to be in a position to help others quickly once the storm passes.

“I know post-storm it’s really important to have a lot of experienced people around to help out, so we’ll be here to help everybody out,” D’Antoni said. “Whether or not I’m swimming out of my house, work calls, and I have to help a lot more people than just myself. It’s just a lot of anxiety and a lot of nerves going, but I always push through.”

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