More than two weeks after Hurricane Isaias made landfall in the Florida Panhandle, roads are being cleaned up, and recovery efforts are underway. Students from the University of West Florida and one from Pensacola State College share their experiences from the storm.
“I didn’t expect it to be as bad as it was. We went without power for two days. I had to learn to live without power. I ended up reading more books and going to bed earlier.” Sophia Tocci, UWF student
“So my hurricane experience was definitely one of a lot of rush and questions. I am in SGA (Student Government Association) and was working with the RAs (resident assistants) to help people fill out forms so we could know their plans for the hurricanes since we were giving only a day and a half to evacuate. A lot of people came to me asking questions about what to do if they had to evacuate. Where do they evacuate? What’s going to happen to their food? And since I’m an SGA senator, they thought I would have more insight. Unfortunately, I could only give them the hour-to-hour information that we were given, and it left a lot of people in a difficult place finding shelter last minute. Fortunately, I’m glad that all the people that I talked to found safety and were able to be out of the hurricane safely. I ended up flying back home, and when I came back, I helped clean up my friends’ yards — especially the ones that had a lot of trees knocked down and power lines messing with access to streets. Thankfully everything worked out in the end, but it was just a bit of a chaotic start.” Ameera Spence, UWF student
“This is my second time when a hurricane happened, and it was pretty scary this time around. With Sally, we didn’t have very much wind, but this time with Isaias we had a lot more wind coming through; it was pretty scary. I even took video footage.” Abby Wedt, UWF student
“We had no power or internet, so it felt like being a kid again, playing games and having a more genuine connection with my friends and people in general. Everyone was struggling, so it was nice to see how people showed up for each other and helped as much as possible.” Nick Tocci, UWF student
“For me, it was my first time experiencing a hurricane. I’m from Guatemala, and there we don’t have (direct hit) hurricanes.” Ximena Escobar, Pensacola State College student
“I was told about the hurricane the week of, as the concert choir I am a part of was supposed to have our concert on the 8th of October. The last thing I heard from our music teacher, Mr.Steenblik, was that we are going to have our last rehearsal Thursday, then class gets canceled that Wednesday. I was excited because that meant I got to go home and take a break from school as deadlines get extended. I was sad that we practiced so hard and we will never get that concert back that we prepared so hard for. I am glad that we will still get to have our last concert of the semester on Nov. 17.
This hurricane wasn’t as bad as I have seen. I sustained, in my hometown in 2018, a Category 5 hurricane where we lost power for two weeks. Many people lost their homes. The small town of Marianna has still not recovered completely. I am thankful this hurricane wasn’t as bad as it could have been. I am sorry to those who have been severely affected by this hurricane, and I am ready for the roads to be cleared soon.” Melanie Canada, UWF student
UWF is providing support to students, faculty, and staff affected by Hurricane Isaias. If you would like to donate, click here.