Ever notice how you can't help but remember where you were when something big happened?
I couldn't shake the thought after realizing that five years ago today, Hurricane Katrina made landfall in South Florida as a Category One storm before strengthening in the Gulf of Mexico and wrecking New Orleans.
And 18 years ago yesterday, Hurricane Andrew delivered a powerful blow to southern Miami-Dade County - flattening homes, tearing off roofs and shattering the hope of thousands of people. I will never forget seeing how one of the sliding glass doors of my family's Hialeah apartment shimmy and shake, creating this staccato ba-bam, ba-bam, ba-bam while Andrew's winds assaulted our home. After it was all said and done, we weren't too bad off.
 |
| Satellite image of Hurricane Andrew |
There were a few downed tree limbs in the parking lot, no electricity, but there was lots and lots of canned tuna....bleh. Being only 10 years old then, all I knew was boredom. Only later would I come to realize that, for the thousands who lived in Homestead and the surrounding areas, Andrew was a devastator that left many of them homeless. They weren't alone, however, the Red Cross and FEMA stepped up to help. Thanks to donations, the Red Cross received more than $168 million to pay for meals and open shelters to help everyone affected by this storm.
My next brush with a devastator storm came In 2005, when I was a reporter and my editor assigned me to cover life in a Red Cross shelter. I had my pick of three shelters and, in the end, I settled on a school near West Palm Beach where I staked my claim on a tiny spot in the school cafeteria and readied myself for the night ahead: No electricity. Boredom. Lots of tuna (guess I learned my prep habits from my parents ;-) ).
 |
| Red Crossers help after Katrina strikes New Orleans |
This time around, South Florida lucked out. The damage wasn't terrible, but the warm waters of the Gulf were more than enough to turn Katrina into a destructive monster that packed 150+ mph winds, drowned New Orleans and killed scores of people. This time, the Red Cross raised $2.186 billion to help the more than 4 million people affected by this storm.
 |
| Canned tuna - yuk! |
And since Wilma (also in 2005), we've all had a remarkable stroke of luck because South Florida hasn't been threatened by a devastating storm. But of course, the experts are predicting an insanely busy season for us this year (like in 2005), so please be prepared -- have your supplies in order and take Red Cross CPR classes. Yes, it does take more than a few cans of tuna to be ready. And if you have the time, become a Red Cross volunteer or consider making a donation so that we'll all be ready to help when the time comes.
 |
| The Red Cross Kit - the right way to prepare. |
Do you have an Andrew, Katrina or Wilma story you'd like to share with us?
-Chrystian Tejedor
-Chrystian Tejedor
Chrystian has been Public Affairs Officer at the American Red Cross in South Florida since January 2009.
