By: Cassaundra Golden     9/15/17

Last Week, the National Hurricane Center started tracking a storm developing in the Caribbean. As the week progressed the category 5 hurricane named Irma ripped the islands of the Caribbean devastating a number of them. On Sunday afternoon, the hurricane slammed into the Florida Keys. Although over seven million people were ordered to evacuate, some defiant people decided to ride out the storm at home. After witnessing it and experiencing it for themselves, residents of places like Marco Island said that the storm felt like, “a tornado that lasted for an hour and a half.” Reports were also made of the island, saying that several homes lost their roofs, and many others had severe damage. Luckily, no deaths were reported from Marco Island. After making its first landfall in the  Keys, residents of the gulf coast anxiously awaited the arrival of the hurricane. Later in the day on Sunday, Hurricane Irma made its second landfall south of Tampa. As the hurricane spewed intense rain and wind, power outages began occurring all across the state.

On the contrary many people did flee the area in order to save themselves and their families. Of those people, were some relatives of mine. The first of all my relatives to take action was my cousin Amy, her husband, and their newborn baby, who live on the East Coast. They were headed to Tampa, because originally that area wasn’t going to be impacted as much. However, the route of the storm changed, and they ended up in the direct path of the storm. Luckily for them, the back end of the storm had broken up, sparing them from the worst, so they didn’t receive the 2nd hit that the Florida Keys endured, after the eye of the storm passed.

The storm continued to lurch forward, and owners of homes in the Keys were anxious to return to assess the damage. However, officials urged these people to remain sheltered in place as the damage done to the roads made them unfit for travel, and the flooding had not yet gone down. Some of the islands had no access to them, making it hard for officials to decipher what type of damage had been done.

In the CNN article about the Hurricane, Tara O’Niell was quoted about what she found when she returned to her home on Monday for the first time after the storm. Tara was shocked when she found a tree crushing her home. At the same time, my cousin began the trek back east to West Palm Beach, along with her three week old baby, her two dogs, her husband, and her mother who had just recently moved to the area. After packing up, Amy quickly realized there was not a drop of gas throughout the entire state for them to fuel up their three cars in order to make it home. Frustrated, Amy said that she was about to, “cram the entire family into one vehicle and leave two behind.” Again, luck was on their side because by the slimmest chance, they found a gas station that had just been filled, so they were able to get enough gas to get back home. Upon arrival, their feelings were similar to those of O’Niell, due to the fact that they found their home without power. Now, a few days since the storm, the power has still not been restored, and Amy told me that they have been cooking their meals outside over a fire.

In Jacksonville, the flooding was extremely serious. The St.Johns river was overflowing, and the water level just continued to rise as the storm progressed. The flood waters turned the famous Memorial Park in Jacksonville into a lake, making it unrecognizable as the park. By the time the storm had centered itself over Jacksonville, officials were able to make their way to more devastated areas in southern florida and the keys to see what destruction Irma had done. Many communities were still without power, and clean water was extremely rare.

On Monday, the storm weakened to a tropical depression after losing strength as it trudged northward, but it was still packed with power. Irma made its way into Georgia, flooding the well known tourist area of Savannah. Roads to coastal communities were shut down due to the flooding and water levels that were above 10 feet in some areas. The last major area of destruction was in Charleston, South Carolina, which was also highly affected by rising flood waters. Overall though, the storm affected at least nine states in the south.

Throughout the duration of the storm, numerous deaths were reported as well. According to the article on CNN, “A 57 year old South Carolina Man was fatally injured during the storm,” and “Three people died in Georgia,” due to various reason that were related to the hurricane. Without a doubt, this storm was one of the worst in the history of the United States, and the damage was extremely extensive. However, with the help of thousands of people’s donations, and support, the citizens of all the impacted areas will be okay.