Friday, October 13, 2017

The ruinous effects of Hurricane Irma

Matthew Bracco & Charles Bray
Staff Writers

As millions faced threatening forecasts, Hurricane Irma was on a path of destruction into southern Florida, creating an evacuee count of nearly 6.6 million people. After wreaking havoc in Barbuda, leaving sixty percent of the population homeless, Irma posed an extreme threat to anyone in its path. After an effortless tearing through Barbuda, leaving the island “barely habitable,” the Category 5 hurricane was on a one way path through the Keys to South Florida.
 Residents scurried away from their homes, leaving anything and everything behind, hoping for the best possible scenario. Citizens were preparing for the most powerful Atlantic Hurricane in history, creating winds up to 185 miles per hour. On Sept. 10, Irma was upgraded from a previous Category 3 downgrade, back to a Category 4. Following that day, southern Florida was put in life threatening conditions, even though they weren’t in the eye of the storm. Finally, on Sept. 11, the storm downgraded to a category one as it headed for Tampa.

 However, the damage that Hurricane Irma placed upon the islands leading to Florida, and on Florida, is catastrophic. For the Caribbean Islands, hope is slim, as their houses and lives were torn apart, making living conditions uninhabitable. As the week of terror ended, people return to their homes, some lucky, but for most, sadly, not so much. It will take months, even years for some to rebuild from the complete destruction of their homes, towns, and cities, but there is always the hope that the citizens of the locations affected, do not have to repeat this agony.