Page 10 - Florida Sentinel 10-7-22

Local
Tampa Residents React To Hurricane Ian
By MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
Last week, Tampa Bay and the rest of Florida braced for Hurricane Ian. Schools were closed and evacuations were the order of the day.
As the hurricane ap- proached on Wednesday, we were prepared for a historic storm of epic proportions. Hurricane Ian was a cate- gory 5 nightmare barreling toward our area.
Thankfully, Tampa Bay residents fared much better than expected. Areas south of Tampa Bay experienced significant flooding and wind damages. As of Octo- ber 5, 2022, over $1.6 billion in insurance claims have been filed.
The Sentinel asked Tampa Bay residents how they fared during the storm. Electricity outages plagued the Riverview area, along with local flooding.
BARRY CLARK
“First off, thank God we did not get a direct hit. Sec- ondly, things were mild compared to other storms.
We usually lose power dur- ing heavy rains but fortu- nately during Ian our lights flickered a few times and tree limbs fell. We had some debris in the yard. I would say my family and I were very blessed.”
BIANCA TAYLOR HEARD
“As a Tampa Bay resident,
I am blessed that we did not experience any damage dur- ing Hurricane Ian. It is al- ways a scary thought when the models predict it is headed straight towards us. My heart goes out to our friends south of us. I have been fortunate to be in- volved with a few supply drives, to assist friends and businesses is getting sup- plies to those in need.”
ED NARAIN
“My heart breaks for the catastrophic losses people have suffered in Southwest Florida. We were very lucky
to have Ian miss our region and only be without power for two days. Our neighbor- hood really banded together to help each other, and it was a reminder of how blessed we all are. We are grateful to God for his mercy and are praying daily for our neighbors in the south”
CURTIS STOKES
“We were very blessed in that only a few screens came loose during the storm. I think that we, and Tampa, were highly favored during this storm. We are so grate- ful.”
PAGE 10-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2022