TAMPA, Fla. — There are still some places in the Bay Area where people are still cleaning up the damage left behind by Hurricane Ian.

Now, only about a week away from hurricane season, Spectrum News followed up with some residents on how they plan to prepare this year.

One Myakka City resident says she hasn’t been able to sleep inside since her home since it was flooded during the storm.

What You Need To Know

  • Marie Jones says she has been living on her porch for eight months since Hurricane Ian hit Myakka City

  • She said the porch was the only option because her home was infested with mold after the Myakka River overflowed and flooded it

  • With Hurricane season coming up, she says there really isn't anything she can do to prepare, aside from hoping for the best  

Marie Jones says she has been living on her porch for eight months after her home was flooded during the storm.

“The house was still wet when I moved out here,” she said.

She says the porch was the only option because her home was infested with mold after the Myakka River overflowed and flooded it during Hurricane Ian.

“It’s what I could drag in here and do myself,” she said.

She keeps precious memories close — the ones she was able to save, at least. Among them are her late husband’s hat and pictures of him and their daughter.

“See, it got beat up, it got wet but at least it didn’t die,” she said.

But taking a look inside her home is a different story.

“I guess it's still my kitchen — doesn’t look much like a kitchen,” Jones said.

Her house is now bare and stripped of what it once was.

Jones says 30 inches of water soaked her floors and ruined all of the walls, cabinets, and some of her belongings. She said it will cost about $200,000 dollars to repair all the damage.

“It’s depressing and tiresome," she said. "It makes your brain tired."

It’s been eight months since Hurricane Ian, and just two months ago she was able to hire workers to start renovations. Unfortunately, the work is just beginning, and the start of the new hurricane season is only days away.

Jones said that because her home sits so close to Myakka River, she’s always worried about the next hurricane.

“There is nothing I can do if the hurricane sits on the river and the river floods," she said. "There is nothing I can do. You can’t help not be nervous."

While Jones hopes to have repairs to her home completed within a couple of months, she's nervous that history will repeat itself this hurricane season.