Food, water delivered to flood victims in Jacksonville's Ribault neighborhood

'It was a big relief,' says Ribault Scenic Drive resident

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Jacksonville police officers, firefighters and members of a local church delivered food and water on Thursday to residents along Ribault Scenic Drive on the city's Northside, who were among those most affected by Hurricane Irma. 

On Monday, floodwaters more than 4 feet deep poured into some people's homes, destroying everything they owned. 

The water had receded by Thursday, but the severe damage remains.

"We lost everything," Deidra Gibson said. 

Inside the home next door to Gibson's, water was still saturating the carpet in the living room days later. The owner, Mallory Harnage, said when he and his wife, Christina, came home after evacuating, they found water levels up the the electrical outlets. 

On Thursday, the Harnages opened their refrigerator to show News4Jax the 1-foot-deep water inside it. The Harnages, like so many others on the block, said they lost everything. 

With no electricity, they took advantage of the daylight to move soaked furniture outside. While they were doing that, Jacksonville police and firefighters came by to drop off food and water to them and others on the road. 

"It was a big relief, especially with the bottle of water, because we have been going through water like crazy trying to stay hydrated," Mallory Harnage said.

Christina Harnage said the kind gesture was surreal. 

"I got tears in my eyes seeing people handing things out to us and helping us," she said. "I thought we would never be in this position to need help."

Gibson said it felt good to know they were not forgotten.

RELATED: Jacksonville mayor goes door to door in Ribault to view Irma damage

“They brought MREs (meals ready to eat). They brought water," Gibson said. "The mayor has been out and toured all the way through my house to see all the damage.”

The damage is so bad along the road that even though power was later restored, flood victims won't be able to turn anything on because electrical outlets are still saturated with water.


About the Author:

Award-winning broadcast and multimedia journalist with 20 years experience.