Irma’s Reminder of Sandy

We are closing in on the 5-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy and while much progress has been made clearly there are still pains associated with the recovery.

Many of us have vivid memories of that late October storm which left a path of destruction along the Jersey Shore and other areas not soon to be forgotten.  We called it the storm of the century and are hoping not to see another one in our lifetime.

Texas and Houston got their storm of the century late last month when Hurricane Harvey became the first major hurricane to make landfall in the United States in more than a decade.  Rainfall and flooding like never seen before, 70 deaths, an estimated $70 billion dollars’ worth of damage and videos and pictures that were jaw-dropping.

Here we are only a couple of weeks later and Mother Nature has struck again with Hurricane Irma who is making a deadly trek through the Caribbean and is barreling down on Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

This storm has already set a record for the most consecutive hours of 180 miles per hour sustained winds and if the experts are right will likely hit South Florida on Sunday as at least a Category 4 hurricane.  Evacuations are well underway and it’s concerning for many of us who have family and friends living in the danger zone who are likely heading north for safer ground.

We have seen great examples of Americans coming together to help the city of Houston and the state of Texas (just like for our area 5 years ago) and it’s hard to imagine that we might be asked to do the same for Florida if Irma stays on her expected course.

I have always said we are at our best when things are at their worst and it looks like that theory is about to get tested again.