Hurricane Matthew, originally estimated to be a Category 4 storm, hit Florida’s east coast on Oct. 7, 2016, according to the CNN. However, according to New York Magazine, the eye of the hurricane did not make landfall in Florida, but still proved to be deadly, claiming nine lives.
Matthew moved up the eastern coast of Florida for two days, leaving behind debris, power outages, flooded homes and eroded beaches. Over 1.5 million people in Florida were asked to evacuate and more than one million residents lost power, according to USA Today.
The cost of Hurricane Matthew’s damage has been estimated at $4 billion to $6 billion overall, according to research and consulting firm CoreLogic. According to the Huffington Post, Hurricane Matthew is responsible for the deaths of over 1,000 people in Haiti. The death toll continues to rise as reports come in.
Among the many coastal communities affected in Florida are Daytona Beach, St. Augustine Beach and Jacksonville Beach.
Alumna Cassidy Mackey evacuated her home to avoid potential flooding. Mackey lives in Fleming Island, Florida, located approximately 30 miles from both Jacksonville Beach and St. Augustine, Florida. Despite the distance, Mackey still experienced power outages and fallen debris.
“We decided to evacuate Thursday morning to Pensacola, because we knew it would be challenging having small children without any power,” Mackey said. “I know the biggest frustration for people has been the long power outages, but we realize technicians are working hard to repair the power lines.”
In the Jacksonville area, around 500,000 people were ordered to evacuate, according to the Tampa Bay Times. Resident of Jacksonville Beach Allison Garapolo lives four miles outside of the mandatory evacuation zone.
“Jacksonville Beach has always been my favorite place,” Garapolo said. “But after Matthew hit, so many homes were damaged from flooding, it just doesn’t feel the same anymore. The dunes are completely gone and our iconic pier divided in half. This pier meant a lot to the Jacksonville Beach community. It’s just so sad.”
Lisa Smart, resident of Daytona Beach, was ordered to evacuate by an email from her property manager.
“I have owned a beach front condo in Daytona Beach Shores since 2007,” Smart said. “Our community came together quickly with the news of Matthew. Our town hall offered free sandbags to residents and had trucks haul in dirt to fill sandbags. After Matthew, our beach and boardwalk was covered with debris, making them inaccessible. Over 75 percent of our pier was taken off due to Matthew.”
Ronda Garner, resident of St. Augustine, manages over 300 rental properties.
“I was ordered to evacuate by officials that drove around our neighborhood on loud speakers,” Garner said. “People have lost so much you can hardly drive down the streets. Their belongings are stacked on the curb, it looks like a complete war zone. It makes me sick to see everything so destroyed and in my home town of all places.”
