Three years ago H. Dorian was targeting the east coast of Florida…. Three years later now and the topic of the day for me then and now was storms and storm survival and preparedness….
Reporting on Dorian in 2019 …. “Someone on national media noted the difference between recovery in Anquilla and Puerta Rico. It, too, got battered by the same hurricane (Irma) but was back up and running in 3 months (good management) whereas Puerto Rico is still a mess. Same disaster, different outcome. Lessons learned. Again and again. How many times must it happen?,,,,,
Also, on national media on this day in 2019, a well known commentator observed that “Florida is facing its first Cat 4 hurricane since Andrew in 1992 (hello???), then he corrected himself and said “on the east coast”. and said something about Florence last year and Michael “2 years ago”…..what in the world??? Michael. The forgotten storm, on the forgotten coast, in the forgotten year……. still forgetting that we’re still barely 10 months into a laborious recovery…….Even people in Tallahassee, Tampa, and elsewhere in the Eastern time zone of Florida don’t remember that we’re still struggling under a massive handicap here. Just as nothing about that storm was typical, nothing about our recovery is typical either….. no one remembers, no one seems to notice. Projections about booms following the disaster are not likely to happen, either, I’m beginning to think, as so many assured us would come in 2-5 years. We still can’t get debris cleared and basic retail restored in some areas and gas prices in line with the rest of the state and healthcare and housing is a mess. The list of deficiencies grows by the month. You know you’re living in a poverty-ridden area with few prospects when the big excitement is over the opening of another new Dollar General and that JC Penney has finally opened again and is hiring. Only the beach and its marketing is keeping Bay County going at this point, it appears. Thank goodness for the changes they made a few years ago away from Spring Break that revived family and retiree and year-round sports focused business out there……,
With H. Dorian (on 8/30/2019) brewing, people’s anxiety levels are amping up. And there are others taunting those who are anxious. Suicide levels are up. Drug use levels are up. Depression incidence is up. Despair is up. Our community is, by all measures, in continued crisis. Leadership is making an effort, but help seems woefully slow or non-existent Those who are in it to make a buck have, sadly, set up shop on many corners. Those of us in helping roles are doing what we can, but the need is so much larger than the supply on every front. Good things are getting done, but the tide seems to still be rising in terms of need and the level of hurting people as one talks to others in helping services is heartbreaking some days.
“Getting by” is not a state of being that lends itself to long term healthy living. We have a lot of people just getting by.”
Thankfully, almost 4 years down the road now from H. Michael, many are largely living restored lives….. but rents are sky high, construction continues at a frenetic pace for the moment… at least for apartment buildings and gas stations. We still have a mall eyesore and a destroyed civic center, indictments of community leaders for misuse of public recovery funds, last year’s frightening wildfires across uncleared sections of decimated forested areas, and dead tree trunks standing or fallen on lots all over the city. One can drive barely a half hour out of the east Bay county area toward the west or north and enjoy the beauty of flourishing forests and out of the constant road work to support what everyone believes is still just the beginning of our “boom” phase. It’s hard to say what’s driving growth….. hurricane recovery insurance payments, federal emergency funds that were almost a year getting approved, post- COVID reengagement economic boost, migration patterns to Florida, or any number of other factors. One still wonders: what have we learned that will make surviving and recovering from the “next one” easier? For sure we’ve learned that church people flock to assist one another with generosity of funds, skill, and time, that some lack the resources, planning, and resilience to recover fully, that some things will never be the same, and some things will be better than before.
Hurricanes are a normal, earth-protective phenomenon that disburse the equatorial heat. Look at all of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico island land masses and the mountain terrain on them that the hurricanes have to pass over to get to the mainland US….. barrier islands that serve as dissipating forces that provide a measure of disruptive protection to us. And for us on the Gulf Coast, we have the most protection of all!. The entire eastern part of Florida is a huge barrier that catches a lot of the force of many of the storms that come off the Atlantic. If they get into the Gulf, we still may be missed as they hook and spin to the northeast. Just because one forms does not automatically mean any particular geographic locale will be affected. But having been hit so recently our nerves are particularly raw. But we survived. And we will come through whatever lies ahead in the days, months, and years ahead. And life will go on. What we make of it all will depend on us, not the weather. The weather has always been there. And so has God. And the weather will continue to be here. And so will God. Those of us who accept the reality of both and move forward will also continue to be here.
We are at the midpoint of hurricane season and have not yet had a named storm. I listened to a FL Emergency Management meteorologist brief a group of state faith-based organization leaders today. The report was that the most severe storms often occur in the latter half of the season (Remember Oct. 10,2018?) We could still have 6-12 named storms before Nov 30….. Oh, great. This is Florida… anything is possible here.
A bit of humor from 3 years ago….
Three years ago, while continuing in recovery from H.Michael….
Pray. Persevere in prayer. And pray some more. The sun will come up tomorrow. We’ll either be here to see it or we’ll be seeing it from the top side of heaven where the brilliance of God’s glory will make the earth’s sunshine a dim glimmer. CBB