Let me start with this. I’m fine. Enrique is fine. The dogs are fine. Our house is fine. No damage. No loss of power. Miraculous. Beyond blessed.
When this week started, we thought that storm was coming here. Right up the mouth of Tampa Bay. I knew I would be at the TV station for the duration. I knew I had to get my husband, Enrique, on board with leaving. I knew I had to get the dogs settled some place safe. Remember, I’m the worrier.
Hindsight, they should have all stayed home. Enrique went to Orlando. The dogs to Lakeland. Both places got far worse weather than Tampa.
We will all be back together later today. I can’t wait to see them. My house is a quiet, lonely place without them.
I’m beyond blessed. I cannot imagine what it must be like this morning in southwest Florida.
The pictures coming out of there are devastating. We have reporters all over the area. I can see on their faces, I can hear in their voices, how bad things are.
Where to start? They are still trying to get to people who are trapped in their homes. The bridge to Sanibel Island is partially collapsed. Only helicopters can get to survivors.
In Fort Myers, the destruction spans for miles. Boats tossed around like toys. Homes pulled from their foundations and thrown into the Gulf of Mexico.
The destruction is everywhere. Power outages everywhere. The power grids in Lee and Charlotte Counties will have to be rebuilt.
It wasn’t just the coastal counties either. Ian moved across central Florida with fury. Orlando had huge flooding issues. In Wauchula in Hardee County, a neighborhood is under at least five feet of water.
The Cavalry is on the way. First responders are going into the worst of it to rescue and help. Donations are pouring in.
This ain’t Florida’s first rodeo. We know hurricanes. We know how to prepare. We know how to take care of our people. We know how to rebuild.
This storm was bigger than most. It did a number on southwest Florida. The rest of us will pitch in to help.
Ian isn’t done. It left Florida yesterday. It’s got Charleston, South Carolina, in its sights today. It’s not the monster it was, but still a hurricane.
I’m watching all this play out from the comfort of my TV station. Again, I am beyond blessed. I will hold my loved ones a little closer today than usual when we all get together.
My morning texts to check on my friends will mean a little bit more today.
Beyond blessed.