I am a native Floridian, and with the exception of my few years in Gainesville for college, I have spent my whole life in Palm Beach County.Because of that, I am no stranger to hurricanes and the preparation process.
A defining time in my childhood was the 2004 hurricane season. It was the first major hurricane season I can remember clearly, and it was a doozy. For a span of roughly six weeks, 4 major hurricanes struck various parts of the State of Florida; 2 of them making landfall on the south-east coast of south Florida. At such a young age, I was now getting versed in all new vocabulary: Landfall, feeder bands, wind gusts, storm surge, hunker down…the list goes on and on. Luckily for me, my family all lived through Hurricane Andrew in August of 1992 and knew not to take storms lightly and the only guarantee with hurricanes is uncertainty.
One memory that is extremely prominent from Hurricane Frances was sitting in my aunt and uncle’s guest room in the middle of the night, listening to howling wind and debris hitting the roof and not being able to see out the shuttered window. The sound not just kept me up, but it was frightening to hear. I could not tell if the sound was a threat to us or if it was just exaggerated due to the lack of vision. In the days that followed these storms, my uncle removed a few shutters to let light back in and so we could open the windows for a breeze in the powerless home. But, we couldn’t remove more than a select few on the first floor, because more storms were coming. We spent much of the month of September out of school, instead spending the time playing board games and outdoor sports with my cousins and brother and the kids in the neighborhood. It was both a fun and scary month.
Now, as a decision making adult, hurricane season takes on a whole new meaning. I am included in discussions of whether to stay or to go. I have to help with clearing the yard and lashing down sheds and must venture out into the jungles of pre-hurricane Publix shopping trips. I fill the emergency water jugs and wait in lines at the gas stations. Clearly, this makes me aware and more stressed about potential negative impacts of a strong hurricane.
Then came Hurricane Irma. The 24-hour period that Irma went from a tropical storm to a category 3 was the day we started hurricane prep for our home. Then, we left to ride out the storm in a relative’s home that was completely outfitted with impact-resistant windows and doors. Despite being an adult who can understand the destructive power of a hurricane, those windows and doors made a huge difference for me. I never could imagine what being able to see the storm would do for my peace of mind. During Irma, when the winds were at their peak Sunday evening, I could see everything that was happening. I could equate the wind howling with how much damage that would do. I could see that while trees were bending, only a few broke. I could see that despite the rain, the neighborhood was not flooding. I slept better that night than the entire week leading up to the storm.
I had heard from various impact-resistant product owners that seeing a storm as it happens truly makes a difference in your sense of security and safety, and I finally got to experience it for myself. I know it made a difference in my own experience with Irma, and I believe that it could help others with their own peace of mind.
