Pulling together in the wake of Hurricane Ian

Posted 10/11/22

We were shaken by the intensity of Hurricane Ian, and incredibly naive when it came to recovery. Having lived through a few hurricanes and snowstorms that left us without power, it never dawned on me …

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Pulling together in the wake of Hurricane Ian

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We were shaken by the intensity of Hurricane Ian, and incredibly naive when it came to recovery. Having lived through a few hurricanes and snowstorms that left us without power, it never dawned on me that this storm would be far more destructive than I had ever experienced.  There were pictures on the news of people standing next to their damaged homes, up to their waists in flood waters, trees down all around them.  That could have been us. 

The first most frightening concern has been the flood waters.  Although the residence in which we are staying is not in a normal flood zone, the storm surge dumped massive amounts of ocean water into rivers and canals already full to overflowing due to recent rainstorms.  This water then overflowed up onto streets, flooding them along with yards, chicken coops, houses, swimming pools and everything in sight.  We were lucky that the house was only teased by the water, coming in but a few inches at the doors and through the foundation.  The entire yard was a marshy mess, and the street became a  search and rescue zone for Air Boats managed by the National Guard.  Even in this hot, sticky, steamy weather, these welcomed men and women wear their full uniforms, combat boots, long pants, t-shirt and jacket.   Just looking at them made me more sweaty.  We were visited personally by the air boats several times.  They could have evacuated us, but there really was no place to go except for a full to overflowing school gym that served as a shelter. Instead, we gratefully accepted MREs (ready meals from the military), and cases of water which has served as our nourishment for the entire week. Although we have no electricity or running water, the home in which we are staying has four walls to keep predators away and the good company of Hubby and my friends.

Hubby takes a brief dip in the pool every night to wash up, even though the pool is full of debris from the storm.  My friend even joked he had better be careful because errant alligators could be lurking, but he made sure to splash the water first to stir it up to see if anything moved.  With the exception of a frog and a zillion mosquitoes, no large reptiles sprang forth on him.  I have my hygiene down to a science by using one bottle of water a day. Some on the facecloth to wash my body, a dab on my toothbrush with the toothpaste, and the rest to drink.  If it were not for those bottles of water, I would be more thirsty, stinky and with worse bad breath. 

Hubby has been doing an incredible amount of work, clearing away pieces of trees, shingles from the roof, odd items that had escaped from the garage, including an upside-down mobility scooter, a kiln my friend used for her pottery making, lots of Christmas decorations including a fake Christmas tree that laid among the ruins of the real trees, and the doors from the garage and shed. 

     Not having ice has been a major sacrifice for me, as cubes regularly fill my glasses of soda to the top.  It is silly, really, how this one issue is so important to me. Food has been the second sacrifice.  Fortunately, we have plenty of peanut butter and bread, apples, oranges and a few candy bars we are rationing. The MREs have been a Godsend, and quite the culinary treat.  These all-inclusive meals include a delicious entree such as chicken and noodles and vegetables, pasta with meatballs and sauce, and Mexican beef, rice and beans. Using a clever self-included mechanism for heating them up, I pour a half cup of water in the top of the heat bag, fold it over at the top, and the water activates with the chemicals in the heating unit to create boiling water. Amazing!  It is some comfort to know that the government has put time and energy into figuring out a way to feed hard working soldiers in areas where regular food preparation is not available.  Also included in the meal was a packet of raisins, crackers and apple jelly, fig bars and a package of Skittles candy. Although Hubby could undoubtedly create a better meal, given the situation we are in, these are perfect!

One of the biggest challenges that still plagues me is the massive amount of mosquitoes.  Hubby, for some unknown reason, does not have a single mosquito bite on him, but I am covered from head to toe in itchy bites. The next time the Airboat comes, I am going to ask for some mosquito repellent. 

A week has gone by and the water on the street has gone down enough to be able to drive out onto the main street, although this is not a preferable activity because everyone who has been housebound is trying to get out and there are massive traffic jams, multiplied by the fact that there is no electricity and the traffic lights are not working. 

Looking at the area, it is amazing that some houses are totally destroyed, roofs gone, furniture haphazardly thrown about in the neighbors's yard, cars impaled by trees.  Yet other houses appear to be completely unscathed.

The loss of electricity has plagued everyone in our community, but a sudden influx of electrical trucks from all over the country has descended upon us, and we are hopeful to be able to get ours back soon. When I can once again take a shower, use the toilet, cook on the stove watch television, have WiFi and cell phone service to once again communicate with everyone, be able to cool off in this humid heat with air conditioning and have ice in my Diet Coke I will humbly be so thankful.  Sometimes it takes a tragedy to be able to see how fortunate we really are.

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