" My house has been through a couple of hurricanes before so I felt like I could get through this, " Florida business owner says
As Hurricane Irma made landfall on Florida, one Fort Myers business owner is holding his own after making the decision not to evacuate.
John Rinkenbaugh joined CBSN by phone on Sunday and explained that he didn’t have enough time to evacuate because he needed to board up his home and business.
« I’m here by myself, unfortunately my wife is in Europe so I’m kinda on my own. It came to the point where I thought it was too dangerous last night to get out on the road and head to Orlando, » he said.
He added, « My house has been through a couple of hurricanes before so I felt like I could get through this. »
The powerful storm left dozens dead across the Caribbean. It touched down in the Florida Keys on Sunday with sustained winds of 130 mph.
Rinkenbaugh is originally from Kansas but said he was a producer with the local CBS affiliate when Hurricane Charley hit Florida in 2004.
« I will say that my anxiety levels have been off the charts since Sunday, I know how dangerous and how frightening one of these storms can be, and its just part of living in paradise, and yeah, I’d rather take a tornado in Kansas than a hurricane like this, » Rinkenbaugh said.
He said the devastation from Hurricane Harvey and scars left by other major hurricanes have forced residents to prepare for the worst. « Those scars still run very, very deep in the community, » he said.
