Hurricane Matthew started almost a week ago, where many parts of the southeast of the U.S. were making preparations for the biggest hurricane Florida has ever seen. Crashing waves made its way through the Bahamas, where it continued on to Haiti. The death count in Haiti nears 900 lives. The category four hurricane triggered nerves and devastation for many, as it made its way to the United States. President Obama announced Florida in a state of emergency. This state of emergency caused millions to evacuate...and nerves set in for many.
My sister lives in Orlando and for many days prior to the storm she had sent me videos of Floridians in Orlando preparing. Water bottles were sold out, signs that read Prepare for Matthew were set up in stores, and lines were so long one may have thought it was Black Friday. As the day arrived, where, surprisingly, Orlando was to get a direct hit, my family's anxiety escalated. My sister works for Disney World and she left work early. At 5 p.m. nobody was allowed to be on the roads. When my sister got off work she headed to Publix, a local grocery store, but she discovered the lines were two hours long. My sister was the lucky one to only have her power only flicker but not go completely out. However, millions were without power. It was a nerve-racking time. When you watch The Weather Channel and they say the hurricane is directly coming from Orlando, a non-coastal city, nerves set in. When the county next door to Orlando had to evacuate those fears escalated.
Walt Disney World shut down for the fourth time ever in history. It was getting serious. The death count for Haiti continued to rise and there was non-stop coverage of the hurricane. It was a category four with over three feet of water in the surge. For people who live in Florida and for those who have family in Florida it was a scary time.
Then we saw coverage on Jacksonville. My two cousins live in Jacksonville and when we called them they had already evacuated. They drained their pool, grabbed their dogs and made sure to take pictures and valuable things along with them. They didn't have time to board up their windows or their new French doors they had just installed. Hearing all this and seeing the coverage on the news only heightened all of our anxiety. We were glad our cousins left and were safe but we hoped the destruction this hurricane caused would be minimal for everybody.
Although the hurricane has passed through Florida and the Georgia coast and is now headed to the Carolina's, prayers and thoughts are continuous to all involved. The hurricane is now a category one, which many say is a blessing. The winds are still powerful and the surges are still destructive but I'm glad to hear that states like Indiana, Texas, Kentucky, Oregon and many other states are coming together to donate money, services and goods to help with any damages caused by this horrific storm.
Everybody and every city and every country impacted needs help. Now all we can do is come together as a country, put relief efforts in to Haiti, Florida, Georgia, the Carolina's and the people effected and start to rebuild. Many families have no idea what they are going back to. We can only hope the damage is minimal and people continue to stay safe.
