“I Survived Hurricane Ian”

    I’m used to hurricane warnings and orders to leave town. Here in Florida, they happen all the time. I never felt too worried about extreme weather. So when I heard that Hurricane Ian was coming in September 2022, I didn’t think it would be a big deal. 

    But as I climbed through a window to escape my flooded house, I realized I had been very wrong.

    I’m used to hurricane warnings and orders to leave town. Here in Florida, they happen often. I never worried much about extreme weather. So when I heard that Hurricane Ian was coming in September 2022, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.

    But as I climbed through a window to escape my flooded house, I realized I had been very wrong.

    I’m used to hurricane warnings and orders to leave town. Here in Florida, they happen fairly frequently. I never felt especially worried about extreme weather—so when I heard that Hurricane Ian was coming in September 2022, I didn’t think it would be a big deal.  

    But as I climbed through a window to escape my flooded house, I realized I had been very wrong.

    Every time a hurricane comes our way, we have to make a choice. Should we evacuate or stay put? It’s hard to decide. Where would we go? What do we bring with us? Would we really be safer if we left? We could get stranded in traffic. The hurricane could change direction and not hit our town. It could hit the place we’re going.

    I’ve lived through about five major storms. My family has never evacuated. That always worked for us—until last year.

    At first, Hurricane Ian didn’t seem worse than past storms. I was sitting down to play cards with my mom, dad, and older sister. Then we looked outside. The water was rising in our yard. This hurricane was different.

    We grabbed things that needed to stay dry. Birth certificates, baby photos, and electronics went up on high shelves. Water started seeping in under the doors. Soon, the water was up to my knees. It was clear: We had to get out.

    Every time a hurricane comes our way, we have to decide whether to evacuate or stay put. It’s a difficult choice to make. We have to think about where we would go, what we would bring with us, and whether we’d actually be safer if we left. We could get stranded in traffic. The hurricane could change direction and not hit our town—or it could even hit the place we’re going.

    There have been about five major storms in my life, and my family has never evacuated. That always worked for us—until last year.

    Even when the wind and rain from Hurricane Ian started, it didn’t seem worse than past storms. I was sitting down to play cards with my mom, dad, and older sister when we looked outside and saw the water rising in our yard. That’s when we knew this hurricane was different.

    We started grabbing things that needed to stay dry—like birth certificates, baby photos, and electronics—and putting them up on high shelves. Soon, water started seeping in under the doors. Before I knew it, the water was up to my knees and it was clear that we had to get out.

    It felt like I was in a movie. My family was rushing around, trying to grab things to take with us. Our dog, Luke, was scared and whining. The wind was shaking our house. 

    Soon the water was so high that we couldn’t open any doors. We would have to leave through a window. But first, we tied ourselves together with a sheet. It was looped around each of our waists. That way, none of us would get sucked away by the rushing water. 

    Once we all climbed through the window, we found ourselves in freezing water five feet deep. My dad got some kayaks and a paddleboard from the garage. Minutes later, we were all floating at the side of our house. None of us knew what to do.

    It felt like I was in a movie. We rushed to grab things to take with us. Our dog, Luke, was scared and whining. The wind shook our house.

    Soon the water was so high that we couldn’t open the doors. We would have to leave through a window. But first, we tied ourselves together with a sheet. It was looped around each of our waists. That way, none of us would get sucked away by the rushing water.

    Once we climbed through the window, we were in freezing water five feet deep. My dad got some kayaks and a paddleboard from the garage. Soon we were floating at the side of our house. We weren’t sure what to do.

    It felt like I was in a movie. My family was rushing around, trying to grab things to take with us. Our dog, Luke, was scared and whining. The wind was shaking our house.

    Soon the water was so high that we couldn’t open any doors. We would have to leave through a window—but first, we tied ourselves together with a sheet. It was looped around each of our waists so that none of us would get sucked away by the rushing water.

    Once we all climbed through the window, we found ourselves in freezing water five feet deep. My dad got some kayaks and a paddleboard from the garage. Minutes later, we were all floating at the side of our house, trying to figure out what to do next.

    Finally, we heard a whistle. It was our neighbors, Rich and Andrew, in Rich’s boat. We were rescued! There were a few other neighbors on board. At one point, the boat hit the top of a stop sign. It felt weird to be floating above the same roads we ride bikes on.

    We rescued two more families. Then we all went to Andrew’s house. Since it’s on a hill, it was dry. There were 20 people, four dogs, and a pet lizard in the house.

    That night, no one could sleep with the adrenaline flooding our bodies. At           4 a.m., I was staring out the window. I watched the water recede. Cars were scattered everywhere. Some were upside down. Sirens blared. How could this be real?

    After what felt like forever, we heard a whistle over the howling wind. It was our neighbors, Rich and Andrew, in Rich’s boat. We were rescued! There were already a few other neighbors on board. At one point, the boat hit the top of a stop sign. It felt incredibly strange to be floating above the same roads we ride bikes on.

    We rescued two other families, and then we all went to Andrew’s house. Since it’s on a hill, it was dry. There were 20 people, four dogs, and a pet lizard all crammed inside one house.

    That night, none of us could sleep because of the adrenaline flooding our bodies. I remember staring out the window at 4 a.m., watching the water recede. Cars were scattered everywhere—some upside down. Sirens blared from every direction. How could this be real?