Hurricane Hits Florida for First Time in 11 Years

Riyan Sarsour, Writer|October 2, 2016

photo credit: CNN

Lynne Garrett speaks to loved ones as she surveys damage outside of her home in St. Marks, Fl.

Its been 11 years since a hurricane has struck the state of Florida and Hurricane Hermine has definitely been one to remember, causing 1 death and hundreds of thousands of property damage.

Hurricane Hermine, a category 1 hurricane, made landfall early on Friday, August 28th 2016. The hurricane swept through Florida and Georgia at 80mph (130km/h). This hurricane caused several injuries and one fatality.

Taking out houses and shelters, Hurricane Hermine caused flooding all over the coast of Florida.

“It didn’t affect me or my home but it definitely affected our community,” said Wiregrass Ranch High School (WRHS) freshman, Ryan Ahlf.

The hurricane took out power to nearly 300,000 homes and businesses.

“Too many homes were destroyed and flooded, but man, Cedar Key had it bad! Water rose to 9.5ft!” said WRHS freshman, Joses De Carlos.

After it’s impact on Florida, the hurricane moved up through other parts of the eastern United States including, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and New York.

South Georgia was hit by the hurricane pretty hard as well, knocking down trees and destroying homes. Georgia suffered heavy property damages but luckily no deaths.

South Carolina along with North Carolina were both hit by the hurricane as well. According to the National Weather Service, the storm hit Myrtle Beach, South Carolina with winds as high as 50 miles per hour and left almost 44,000 people without power.

North Carolina’s Governor expressed his concerns to the Wall Street Journal.

“We want this thing to move in and out as quickly as possible with as little damage as possible,” said North Carolina’s Governor, Pat McCrory.

New York was not hit too bad, and most people didn’t notice while celebrating over Labor Day weekend.

The hurricane ended September 6, 2016, but the damage has not been fully mended. Florida Governor Rick Scott has issued a relief update for Florida. He is providing 200 generators around the Tallahassee area and the states are working on debris management and bridge inspection along with public information support.