Hurricane Ian will undoubtedly go down in the history books as one of the most destructive storms to ever hit the US.  Any damage cause by nature’s fury is bad. But the unprecedented 3 US landfalls Ian made causing mass destruction to life (human and animal), personal property, and infrastructure is too much to truly grasp.  Each person affected, whether they were in Cuba, Ft. Myers, FL, or Georgetown, SC, can really only focus on the bit of damage, however small or large…in front of their eyes.  We have to take care of what we can personally handle in our home and community, as I discovered in my neighborhood.

Most often people think of just the coastal areas getting hurricane damage.  Media reports show constant footage of coastal homes and hotels, roofs being ripped off with insulation blowing everywhere, yachts getting tossed about and piled up like plastic toys, with flood waters as high as road signs engulfing everything in their path.  These TV shots and photos are dramatic and viewers are glued to the coverage…partly in awe because it looks like a horror movie, but mostly in sympathy for the devastation being witnessed in real time.

Over 125 miles inland, close to the center of North Carolina, is where I live.  Thankfully, my roof held, no boats ended up stranded in my yard, and the standing water I experienced came from 4.5” of rain (which was appreciated because there has been no rain in several days).  That didn’t mean that my neighbors and I were without damage and some level of inconvenience. Hundreds of thousands of customers were left without power in North Carolina as Ian moved through with tropical storm force winds. Cary, my location, is slightly right from the middle of this map in the blobs of power outages registered by Duke Energy power company. My neighborhood, a very tight knit community of young families, elderly couples, and singles, pulled together as we always do to help each other.

Our neighborhood power outage was, like most in the area, due to high winds, A large section of a willow oak tree in a front yard across the street from my house snapped off. It broke off the street light and rested on the overhead lines, with the force ripping the power cables completely off of 2 houses. The primary cable, along with a fiber line, snapped and hung dangerously across several driveways and a car.

As the rain and wind subsided, people on my street cautiously emerged from their homes to survey the damage. I was invited for a cup of coffee by one neighbor who had a gas stove and could heat water. It is surprising how comforting a hot cup of coffee can be! Most of us have electric appliances, so the willingness to share a coffee was truly appreciated.

By running this little generator, I was able to charge my elderly next-door neighbor’s phone so they could talk to their children. My neighbors across the street were able to charge their mobile phone and their sound machines so their babies could sleep in the darkness. Everyone offered to share food, and children that don’t usually play together were running and laughing across the wet grass. Some adults read books in lawn chairs outside, and others were out simply talking…not complaining about the lack of electric power, but reflecting on the power of community and friendship we all shared.

When the calvary of trucks and equipment arrived, we all cheered and thanked them for coming. We offered to give them anything they needed, but they just appreciated our sincere gratitude. The men were mostly from South Carolina, again helping their “neighbors” in North Carolina when the need arose. It took several hours, and was completely dark when they finally completed their work.

All of these professionals doing incredibly dangerous work for hours on end, spending days and nights away from their families to help others, deserve far more credit and thanks than I could ever give. I used to be a little girl at home with my Mom missing my Daddy, because he was gone for days and nights during weather disasters, restoring power for other families in neighboring cities and states like these crews did for us.

After the multi-hours worth of repairs by the power crews, two houses still couldn’t receive power due to their lines being torn away from their roofs. As I write this I’m doing a load of laundry for one of these families with young children who are still in the dark. But their little girls are already on their way to understanding how just a little help can make a big difference…..they did their part, happy to help in the clean up by filling their wagon with debris.

May we all reach out to others in need, even when we have needs of our own. While we all are heartbroken over the immense, catastrophic loss suffered by millions due to hurricane Ian, my neighbors and I were removed from the bombardment of the media stories for 24 hours without TV or computers. And during that time, we focused on just what was around us, embracing our community and what we could do to help each other. Every little bit makes a difference!