First responders splinter locked front doors with sledge hammers while searching for survivors, but find more victims instead. Wooden jambs swollen from filthy flood waters keep out rescuers more efficiently than steel bolts dissuade looters.
Going house to house, the quiet is ominous. Where sounds of laughing children and barking dogs were once block music, silence now a stark reminder of the loss of life.
Vandals band into packs, defiling already ruined memories, leaving messages of contempt where comfort is needed, necessary.
Devastation, caused by demon storms bearing names as easily given to nurturing mothers and fathers, lingers even after the debris is removed from sight. Fading to shiny silver traces, scars never completely heal.
Three months remain in the 2013 Atlantic Hurricane Season.
- Hurricane Andrew (1992) Homestead FL: 26 deaths; $26.5 billion damages
- Hurricane Opal (1995) Destin FL: 59 deaths; $3 billion damages
- Hurricane Ivan (2004) Gulf Shores, AL: 92 deaths; $14.2 billion damages
- Hurricane Katrina (2005) New Orleans, LA: 1,200 deaths; $75 billion damages
- Hurricane Irene (2011) New York City, NY: 56 deaths; $15.6 billion damages
- Hurricane Sandy (2012) Mantoloking, NJ: 191 deaths; $50 billion damages
*National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
*Photo venue: New Orleans, Ninth Ward; 2010, five years after Hurricane Katrina. The graffiti on this house is not vandalism. It is X-code messages used by search-and-rescue teams.
Thin spiral notebook 
It is amazing how storms can reshape the world and totally change the social dynamics of a locale. I watched in horror as katrina forever change the gulf coast region. The images were disturbing in that we could not deal effectively with the effects in a timely manner.
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Having lived through several storms, with Katrina I believe most of the devastation was post-storm, from the inadequacy of the levees. Still, the city and country was not prepared for what happened regardless of the ultimate cause.
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It’s surprising how long signs of the devastation are visible. I’ve never been through a hurricane (thanks to living in Arizona most of my life) but I imagine that it gets tense during the hurricane season.
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June 1 is always stressful for me, just because it’s the official start of the storm season. After all these years, we have our evacuation plans pretty much set, and our floor insurance current.
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Poignant post, Tara. And the photo and words are a great meld. Thanks for sharing.
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Thank you! The image of that house, still boarded up, still bearing those x-codes, so many years after the storm, was very shocking.
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Very vivid. A worthy word-painting of those fading, but still present, scars.
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Thank you so much.
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Don’t remind me…
Yesterday we had a sudden freak storm hit us. The skies were dark grey and covered, we could see the lightning coming from miles away. I knew something was coming, knew we we’re going to get hit, just didn’t know exactly when it would happen. I left the AC lounge where I was huddled to write without fighting the heat. I wanted to be back on my boat before the storm hit so I could close all the windows, and batten the hatches (ha!)
And then it came. Whistling winds, halyards banging on masts, and the boat banging on the dock. I was really glad to be tied down to a solid dock, and not simply anchored. Not enjoying being alone here in the middle of hurricane season.
My heart goes to those who really do lose everything.
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So glad you weathered the storm without injury or damage. We’ve been incredibly lucky here. Living in hurricane alley is an adventure that’s for sure.
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Those scars never do truly heal.
I lived through Opal and Ivan.
It is so sad to see all those number together.
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Opal was my first personal experience with a hurricane. We also evacuated from Ivan. You remember those times as clearly as if they happened yesterday.
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*wiping my eyes*, esp as I have spent a good deal of time near the Jersey Shore (and my mom and step dad had damage (MINIMAL) to their marina home) seeing the devastation the last few months.
The words you used to paint this picture were like small shocks to my system, the vandals forming “packs”, one of my favorites (although so sad) is that the “Block music” is now different and sad, it was well written and hit me in the chest.
as Tom said, saying thank you for linking up seems like hardly enough, but thank you anyway for always giving my heart something to think on.
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I have great empathy for the survivors of Hurricane Sandy. I’ve been there and I can completely understand what they are experiencing now.
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Oh those stats are horrendous. Summer/early fall has a whole different meaning to those living in florida. The picture haunted me as I read your words!
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I can tell you the day and time my family left our home when escaping Hurricane Opal. My children and I didn’t come back for two weeks, until electricity had been restored. My husband came back after only a few days to help neighbors and clear our yard of debris and fallen trees.
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What a brilliant, touching tribute to those who have suffered at the hands of storms. You have offered such respect to the victims. There are so many examples of excellence in this story that I don’t even know where to begin my praise. Your decision to simply list the storms, casulties and costs involved really hammers home the points you have made and acts as a counter-balance to the wonderful writing that precedes it. Thanking you for linking up hardly seems enough. 🙂
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I’ve been fortunate. Though my family has evacuated for four storms, we have miraculously sustained no serious property damage or injuries. I am immensely grateful.
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What a great name for this post!
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We moved into our house in Sept. 1995, three weeks later we were evacuating ahead of Hurricane Opal. There are still signs, almost 20 years later, of that storm. New Orleans continues to feel the effects of Katrina nearly 10 years out. Damages from Sandy will linger just as long.
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