JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Many residents along the First Coast spent Friday continuing cleanup efforts from Hurricane Milton.
Although Hurricane Milton left Florida Thursday morning, its impacts are still felt, especially those who live along the water.
For those who live along the Intercoastal on Beach Boulevard or neighborhoods surrounding the St. Johns River, tidal flooding was noticeable with already high water levels. Ponding on the roadways was also noticeable during high tide times.
While it's not catastrophic, it's important to keep this potential for flooding in mind while driving throughout the Intercostal, San Marco or Riverside. It still has the potential to create problems for your car and can cause excessive water to get into your yard or on your dock. Still, the potential for flooding should not stop you from cleaning up your front and back yards.
Mental health experts warn that cleaning up severe storm damage may cause even more stress on someone who just went through a traumatic storm.
Dr. Christine Cauffield, CEO of the nonprofit LSF Health Systems in Jacksonville, recommends focusing on your hurricane clean up one step at a time.
"Focus on what you can control," Cauffield told First Coast News. "Chunk it down at a manageable task and steps, so that it doesn't feel so overwhelming."
After spending the past week trying to secure you and your home's physical well-being ahead of Milton, Cauffield added that taking care of your mental well-being after a storm is crucial, after living through an extended stressful time.
"The aftermath of Milton, for example, can cause a lot of people to have post-traumatic stress disorder and what they are experiencing and they're reporting, they're experiencing flashbacks from the actual event and the damage that it occurred for them," Cauffiled said.
Jacksonville Mayor Donna Deegan said in a press conference Thursday to be patient with the city on debris pick up, as the city has to pick up debris from both Hurricanes Helene and Milton.