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Hurricane Milton - met some great people
A Reflection by Fred Schaeffer, OFS
I believe this is the 3rd major hurricane I have experienced. There was Hurricane Frances and Jeanne both East Coast Florida storms, in September 2004, Category 2 (@105 mph) when they hit Vero Beach, FL, where I live. Frances left some damage, blew my carport roof away, damaged my air-conditioner, and some minor stuff. I can’t recall damage from Jeanne, although that was a Cat. 3, with gusts to 145 mph. Repairs were made with insurance money and help from FEMA. After that insurance became too costly so reluctantly I let it go. In the following years, there were some tropical storms but not major ones.
Advance 20 years to last week, and Hurricane Milton barreled through, closer than its predecessors, landfall on West Coast of Florida as a Cat. 4 and simmered down to Cat. 3, or high 2, (120mph gusts were mentioned) on Oct. 9, 2024. I live in a “manufactured house”, and they are generally not as sturdy as brick. The house sits on concrete block about 3 feet high. Anyway, all hurricane experiences involved staying in public shelters, and there are always some people who are parishioners at my Parish church. I cannot recall whom I met in 2004 but in this latest storm, I prayed a Rosary and other prayers with friends from church. And after the shelter was going to close, I spent two days with great friends from Church at their place, because it took two more days to get the electricity running again at home. They also assisted me in recycling/restocking the fridge, and their charity saved me a lot of money.
Glad this experience is behind me. There may be another storm on the way so I am leaving some of my storm shutters in place. It takes a great deal of effort to put them up. Our Secular Franciscan Fraternity meeting in October did not take place because of the storm and the resulting chaos.
Damage in Vero Beach resulted from Tornadoes more than from hurricanes. Two tornadoes came through Vero Beach. In my Mobile Home park, my house was untouched but another house not far away was missing a room, and there was roof damage to some units. I hear that downtown had some damage to a Police station and other commercial structures. RR Crossings were messed up, too. My Franciscan sister Joanne's house (in Lakewood Park) came through OK but the house next to hers was hit by a Tornado. She said it was a very scary experience, sounds like a freight train going by, and her house shook. Throughout the region many trees were down or stripped.
People in Vero Beach are friendly and they cooperate with each other. It’s a nice place to live. I’ve been here 35 years. Wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.
Peace and Good,
Fred Schaeffer, OFS