I lived in Florida until I was nine years old, when my family decided to move to Colorado. We left a lot of my family and friends back in Florida, and many of them still living there. We only experienced a few hurricanes when we lived there, but nothing as bad as Irma. When I heard that Irma was headed right for my family and friends in Florida, my stomach dropped.
*Picture I took when I visited Florida most recently*
They tried to evacuate the state, but unfortunately it is really difficult to make everyone move out of the state and leave everything behind. They then take the risk of being backed up on the highway when the storm hits. Both solutions to a hurricane are not preferable, so all of my family and friends in Florida decided to board up their windows and stick out Hurricane Irma.
All I could do was wait and pray that they would answer their calls. I looked at the pictures online of the destruction, and it was not comforting in the slightest.
They were very fortunate, and all had minimal damage to their homes. My entire family survived Hurricane Irma, but not everyone was so lucky.
*My cousin’s experience from Hurricane Irma*