Days before Ian, the area had been saturated by rains. (CNS photo/David Gonzalez, Florida Catholic)ĭavid had survived Hurricane Charley in 2004 in that trailer, but what made Ian different was the amount of water. “Then we got outside and there was 4 feet of water in the yard.”Ī collapsed road under this truck is a familiar scene on a neighborhood street in Wauchula, Fla., Oct. “I woke up and when I stood up, there was water up to my knees,” he recalled. They had 10 minutes to say goodbye to the place they called home for 25 years. Officers came and told the couple they had to leave for their own safety. After having a sleepless night, he took a nap thinking some of the water might subside by the afternoon. When the sun came up, he thought the worst was over. He tried to save as much as he could during the night, collecting gallon after gallon of water that would seep into the trailer. Michael, and seated at an adjacent table was a Wauchula resident familiar to Sister Ruiz.ĭavid is in his mid-60s, and he arrived at the shelter with his wife after weathering the storm in the early morning hours of Sept. She delivered hot food to the shelter and to check on displaced residents she knows. Sitting at the table with her was Sister Gema Ruiz, director of religious education at St. “At night they do say they want to go home, but we cannot return home.” “We are here (at the shelter) and I am grateful, but it is difficult.”Īnd she said while her three sons are doing their best, they do feel the sadness and weight of the loss. “Of course, I’m sad, I’m nervous, I’m frightened. The mother shows a video where the thigh-level waters were flowing quickly on the property where several homes were destroyed. When they returned the day after the storm, the property where they lived was overtaken by the Peace River. (CNS photo/David Gonzalez, Florida Catholic)ĭespite being located in an inland county in southern central Florida, Hurricane Ian was slated to barrel through the area and the Peace River was getting high, so they sought shelter at Hardee Junior High School. 29, it dumped rain on the already saturated ground of Hardee County, leaving portions of the area with 3 feet of standing water. The Peace River in Wauchula, Fla., is seen Oct.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |