Florida-based journalist who covered Hurricane Harvey now prepares own home for Hurricane Irma

— -- A Florida-based journalist who covered the devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey is now preparing her own home for yet another powerful storm barreling toward the United States.

Freelance network television news producer Karen D'Uva, 57, acknowledged the role reversal with Irma, telling ABC News that she does not want to become a victim of Hurricane Irma, which is forecast to hit southern Florida early Sunday morning.

"I'm sort of numb right now that I'm actually part of the story," D'Uva said in a telephone interview Thursday. "I've been crying all day."

D'Uva was freelancing as a booking producer for NBC News in Houston last week after Hurricane Harvey made landfall in the Lone Star State. She described the destruction there as "unexpected" and "heartbreaking," saying the experience left her feeling "fatigued."

The whole time, D'Uva said, she kept thinking, "That could be me."

"I can't imagine people walking out of their homes and leaving everything behind," she said.

Now, D'Uva's home on a barrier island in Florida's Pompano Beach -- north of Fort Lauderdale -- is in a mandatory evacuation zone and at risk for potentially life-threatening storm surge and flooding.

D'Uva spent Thursday securing her "old Florida" home -- built in 1954 -- for the powerful storm by closing her hurricane shutters, bringing patio furniture and potted plants inside and moving important items inside the house to higher ground, she said.

"I don't know what I'm going to be coming back to in a couple of days," D'Uva said.

She added that it was emotionally overwhelming trying decide what to take with her when she evacuates, acknowledging that she "can't take everything." D'Uva packed mainly photos and memories from her television career, "just things that you cannot replace," she said.

Once D'Uva finishes preparing her home, she's off to do the same for her 86-year-old mother, who lives about a mile away.

D'Uva plans to shelter at her cottage in Mount Dora early Friday morning with her mother and her "kids" -- her cat, Violet Crawley, and dog, Mr. Carson -- before the bridges to the barrier island shut down at noon.

The hardest part of evacuating is leaving her home behind, which she's lived in for 17 years.

"I look around my house and it's a lifetime of memories," she said. "I don't want to come back and everything is under water and blown away and you never see it again."

D'Uva has been freelancing for ABC News this week, covering press conferences with the Florida governor and other officials on the state's preparations for Hurricane Irma. Once the storm passes, D'Uva said she hopes to return to work covering the aftermath in her home state.

As a television producer for more than 37 years and a Floridian for over 20 years, D'Uva has been through her fair share of hurricanes. But after experiencing the aftermath of Harvey, Irma's threat "just feels different," she said.

"Of all the times, this is the time where it's really hitting me," D'Uva said.

Hurricane Irma is expected to make landfall as a Category 4 storm near Miami on Sunday morning, bringing fierce winds, heavy rain and potentially life-threatening storm surge.

Florida Gov. Rick Scott, who declared a statewide emergency earlier this week, has warned that the "massive storm" could be more treacherous than Hurricane Andrew, which devastated the Sunshine State 25 years ago.

As worried as she is about her beloved home, D'Uva said the most important thing is that her family, friends and colleagues stay safe.

"All you can do is pray," she said.