HORSESHOE BEACH, Fla. — Horseshoe Beach is located along the Big Bend area of Florida and is considered part of the Nature Coast. 

The area has been hit hard by previous hurricanes Debby and Idalia, leaving many residents without a home from past storms.

So, Horseshoe Beach Mayor Jeff Williams is not taking any chances and has been meeting with officials around the state preparing for what will probably become Hurricane Helene.

The mayor is asking everyone in the small gulf coast community to pack up and leave.

“We want them to leave. Get your stuff, take your valuables. We try to prepare them because there will be curfews to get back in. Make sure you bring something, proof of residence or we won’t be able to let you return,” said Williams.

Williams spent the day on Tuesday talking on the phone with state officials and preparing their command center.

“We will likely start going door-to-door on Wednesday asking our residents to leave,” said Williams.

In past storms Debby and Idalia, the mayor says he has only run into one resident that would not leave their home.

Horseshoe Beach is home to more than 500 permanent residents, but many more vacation in the area that is known for its world class fishing and shrimping.

Everyone in the community is hoping for the best but preparing for the worst.

Insurance adjuster Mary Miller spent Tuesday flying her drone to map out the community before the storm.

She is worried that this tropical system could wash out the entire area and the community would not know where homes and roads were once located.

“The outline of the houses, the roads, the grass. Everything that is here that we put here through the years,” said Miller.

Miller says her parents helped settle the area back in the 1990s and there are many plaques honoring them around the beach community.

“It’s just very special. It’s just very quiet. Low key. My dad wanted to go fishing every day,” Miller said.

Many of the homes are built on stilts, and some homeowners have already boarded up their residences.