Hurricanes Helene and Milton affected the friends and families of many WJ students and staff.

These natural disasters, Categories 4 and 3 respectively, caused intense flooding and extensive damage in Florida and other southeastern states. Milton, which landed on Oct. 9, wreaked havoc less than two weeks after Helene on Sept. 26.

Florida native and American Sign Language teacher Kiara Campbell has connections to several hurricane survivors. One of her friends lost power and experienced flooding; another had roof shingles fall in front of their house. The state had to accommodate the thousands of survivors, including some of Campbell’s friends, who were left without a place to stay.

“The high school that I used to work at actually turned into a shelter last week as the hurricane was coming up across the state,” Campbell said. “[For my friends], making sure they had supplies was number one.”

These shelters were divided to ensure everyone got the necessary care and resources. Some schools were designated for people with special needs, while others were for the homeless.

However, these parts of Florida weren’t hit badly compared to the coasts.

“If you think about those other areas of Florida, like the Tampa area and on the Gulf Coast, I can’t even imagine,” Campbell said.

Sophomore Emily Coffey had a death in her family and the funeral had to be postponed due to the hurricanes. This understandably caused stress among her immediate family.

“The fact that [my mom] was so stressed and worried consistently had stressed me out,” Coffey said.

Assistant Principal Marjorie Cohen grew up and lived in Florida for 20 years, so she has a strong connection with the state. Cohen’s parents live on the Gulf Coast near Sarasota and Manatee Counties, which experienced over $1 billion in damage.

“They were worried about the dog, so the Sunday before Milton, they flew home [to Florida],” Cohen said. “Once it was a day or two later, they realized they probably should not have come home.”

Although there was severe damage nearby, they were able to shelter safely in their home. Thanks to modern technology, recently built homes like this one are equipped with hurricane window shutters and power generators.

For many, this wasn’t too far out of the ordinary. Florida has experienced six major hurricanes since 2017. Junior Phillip Pindell’s family was well prepared based on these past natural disasters.

“They were just kind of treating it like every other that they’ve done,” Pindell said. “It wasn’t a surprise.”

Students and staff handled the stress and grief caused by the hurricanes in different ways. Cohen and her immediate family were especially concerned when they heard 911 calls would no longer be answered until after the storm.

“The night of the storm, I felt like my whole family were all glued to the TV watching Anderson Cooper and everything,” Cohen said.

Cohen and Campbell agree that those who were able to make it through this severe weather without too much damage are very lucky.

“[My parents] have a place to go, but so many people in Florida don’t,” Campbell said. “It’s a catch-22 being a Floridian.”