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This here is a just a quick overview of the damage of Huricane Ivan. Since my hometown sustained some of the worst damage from the storm, it has impacted me greatly.
I've read up on the reports and damages, stories of the people who sat through the storm, those who survived, those who lost their homes, and those who lost their lives. What I would like to do is write a series of short stories about these people and what I think it must have been like.
But first, let me fill you in on where I stand.

Of Men, Hurricanes, and God
An essay of sorts by Kelly Ryan

I'm a Florida native. I've lived in Milton, Santa Rosa County, just east of Pensacola, all my life. I am no stranger to hurricanes. I've sat through a few hurricanes in my childhood, evacuated category 4 Hurricane Opal in 1996, and have scoffed many tropical storms throughout the years.

Before now, the worst hurricane to strike home in my lifetime was Hurricane Opal. It landed on my birthday, and my family was evacuating to Georgia. Opal died after making landfall, but it didn't go down without doing damage first. It laid waste the beach community of Navaare, where my uncle had a beach house. This was the first impact hurricanes have had on me.

I'm sure you are all aware that Florida has been victim to 3 devastating hurricanes in 5 weeks. I, however, happened to move here to Memphis for college the day that the first one, Charlie, made landfall in South Florida on August 14th. I have friends if South Florida who survived Charlie and Frances. Milton, being on the far west side of the Florida panhandle, was unaffected by both hurricanes Charlie and Frances.

Ivan, however, had its eye on the Milton/Pensacola region. If a hurricane is going to smash a place to pieces, its going to occur on the east side of the eye. The eye landed somewhere in Mobile, Alabama, placing Pensacola/Milton in the most dangerous zone.

Santa Rosa County is now a federal disaster zone. Road system have been washed out, making it difficult for people to get into and leave the city. Many other roads are blocked by trees that fell. I haven't been able to find a count yet, but pictures show hundreds of homes that have been demolished in the Milton/Pensacola area. However, I was able to get a death count: 12 bodies have been found so far, most of them seniors who were unable to escape from their homes, one a small girl who was crushed by a tree that fell through her home.

I've tried calling my friends and family back home. The phone system is out, but I was able to reach those who have cell phones, and they gave me an account of how everyone was doing. My friends are ok, my family is ok, and damages to their homes were minimum.

I am a Christian. Events such as this will certainly try ones faith. One may ask me how God, with His soverign power and love, could allow this to happen. Sometimes I am not strong, sometimes I want to try to deny it, but deep down, I know that God is just. I have yet to understand it, or even come to terms with it, but I believe that it is true.

That about sums it up. I am not trying to shove religion down anyones throat, and I am not even trying to start a religious discussion. If you have something to say about that, let's not do it here. Feel free to IM me on AIM or send me a PM if you have something to say.

I'm going to start working on the short stories soon. If anyone else has an idea, we can dedicate this thread to such stories. Thank you for reading.

Although I'm no veteran of hurricanes, I certainly know what they're like after Juan last fall. Damages in my area were minimal, really, but the province capital declared a state of emergency. I've heard from friends who went without power and hot water and phone for a week, and saw pictures of the damages. Then we had a blizzard hit in February, just before spring break, that we've "affectionately" named "White Juan" because it did just as much damage, adn this time I actually got to feel it.

The essay would make an amazing intro to the short story series!