Hurricane Matthew Aftermath

Southeast Florida was lucky – little damage, little impact.  Farther up the coast the little eastward wobble on Friday helped folks in Melbourne, but the path of destruction picked up going north.  People were still on the bridges and the beaches in St. Augustine after they were told to evacuate.  Not smart.  The death toll is 21 at the moment – we were lucky it was not worse like in Haiti where it will exceed 500.  Fortunately we have better infrastructure to respond and better warning systems.

Homes on the beach in Palm Coast has sand inside, but the Carolinas got the brunt of it, much like in 1999 with Hurricane Floyd.  Then they had cows and pigs on roofs of barns to stay dry.  My friends in eastern North Carolina, living in the land of hard red clay and  limited topography, have a situation that will make drainage more difficult, and therefore more costly and disruptive.  Millions are without power.  Some without water.   The situation in Lumberton shows what can happen when vital services like water are not available even for short periods.   The news does not tell us when that system will be back up, but you can see the breakdown occurring in the community as people struggle with basic needs. Our thoughts for quick recovery and safety are with them.

And those of us who were not impacted by this storm despite being being in its path – be really really thankful!!  Talking about us, south Florida!!

From Reuters: