Looking back, my advice for those caught in Hurricane Ian’s path, take more memories.
While watching the coverage of Hurricane Ian, my stomach sank as I thought about what the Florida residents caught in its path of destruction faced. My greatest fear was them having to not only fight and struggle to salvage the things that they cherish but also have to defend and prove facts to the insurance and mortgage companies to get their lives back, long after Ian would be a distant memory.
It transported me back to August of 2020, when my family and I were fleeing Hurricane Laura in Lake Charles, Louisiana.
When I first heard reports of the approaching storm, I honestly wasn’t that concerned because I didn’t think it was going to be as bad as it turned out to be. It was my first major hurricane. I had just released my first song on my record label, and I was on a high. Then just like a record, my life scratched when reality set in that Laura would be no ordinary storm. Local forecasters said it would be at least a Category 4 and was headed straight for us.
Hurricane Laura was the most intense storm since the Last Island Hurricane of 1856 and the strongest land-falling hurricane in Louisiana history and, at the time, tied as the fifth-strongest hurricane on record to make a continental U.S. landfall. My first thought: My mother who was in hospice in the area and could not travel long distances. The long ride would be too much for her. The agency assured me that they would be with her and relocate her to a partner hospice elsewhere in the state.
Still, I did not consider evacuating until a mandatory order was issued for Calcasieu Parish, where I live. I was not fearful enough. Then, reality set in. I had to prepare and make sure my husband, my children, grandkids, myself and even my dog were safe. I scurried to find documents that proved that we existed: birth certificates, social security cards and other important papers. All things of material value were left behind.
I loaded up ice chests with bread, sandwich meats and frozen meat that we thought would spoil. Looking back on Laura, my advice for those caught in Hurricane Ian’s path is to take more memories: Your pictures and keepsakes may be washed away.
But keep the material things to a minimum. Take extra clothes, cash, make sure you have a credit card with a good balance for hotels and essentials that you will need for your evacuation.
