By Katrina Broner

Tampa Blessed, Florida Strong

“Irma is a MONSTER Hurricane and she is going to devour Florida, everyone is going to damn near die!” Living in Tampa, FL that’s actually pretty close to the media coverage I’ve heard every day for the last 3 weeks about Hurricane Irma.

Yes, Irma was a record breaking, huge hurricane. Yes, with a category 5, death and destruction will be on the menu. Yes, everyone was calling, texting or on Facebook asking if I’m ready to die? In America we have a fond way with sensationalism that in certain situations can be helpful. Making sure the severity of the situation is anticipated, I have no doubt that scaring the hell out of people to evacuate saved thousands of lives. In the places that were hit harder, my heart and prayers are for those who suffered the death and destruction of Irma.

However, as it started to come towards Tampa I chose to narrow my decision making to a local perspective. My favorite meteorologist is Dennis Phillips and his team on ABC Action News. They decided to continue broadcasting so I decided to keep the TV on. As they reported vital information, I kept double checking the area I live in and I shopped for supplies well before people made a run on the local grocery stores. With a little help, I filled up my gas tank on Friday and packed our emergency bags while the kids were at school. I was thankful the local news coverage was constant and while they were persistent about safety, they did not add to the panic. With all the information, I was pretty sure we could wait it out but there were those who watched the news and left the minute they heard “Category 5”; I’m glad they did.

Decisions for safety are never made lightly but even so, there were other Floridians on social media calling evacuees cowards! The requirement for #FloridaStrong seemed to be praising self-sacrifice over the first law of nature, self-preservation. It was absolutely ridiculous and appalling but as I understand it Mother Nature and Karma will have their way with those kinds of humans.

There was a variety of those that stayed. Those like me, were prepared and waited to watch the track and intensity of the storm. I chose to stay, not because I’m #FloridaStrong but because I’m just not a person to panic if I have good information. I was not in an immediate evacuation zone, I was not in a severe flood zone and Irma was losing strength. By Saturday morning, I was comfortable with staying put. My TV channel had not changed and by Sunday, I had a love hate relationship with the words “spaghetti model” and “hunker down”…I kept yelling at the anchors and meteorologist, “Stop saying that!! What exactly the hell is a hunker!? How old do you have to be to say that!?” I digress. But we were definitely
#TampaReady.

Waiting for Irma to deal out her devastation was like being told to go to your room and wait for your punishment. You know the terrible awfulness is coming but the disciplinarian of your household was stuck in slow moving traffic mad as hell. What do you do while you wait?

Hop on a bike and jump into Tampa Bay…Literally! One of the awesome phenomenon that comes with hurricanes is their ability to suck up a body of water until you can see land. I must admit it was a remarkable sight! I had no idea a hurricane could do such things and I understand the magnetic fascination but I no longer have the guts that would allow me to go experience it for myself. Those that did are awesome, that is truly a once in a lifetime experience that will make you social media famous for a day. Tampa Bay is in what we call the Bayshore area , it is a flood and immediate evacuation zone and the warnings were consistent for a 4-6ft storm surge so as cool as that was to see people walk in the bay…I kept thinking “Ok that was fun crazy people…GO BACK TO SAFETY and “Hunker Down”!

Finally, Irma began to move through the Tampa Bay area. My TV had stayed on ABC Action News since Friday. My children and I stayed in the living room with all of our blankets and pillows. I informed my family that I would update them every 2 hours. As I said, I am not one to panic and it carried over to my children. They asked questions but there were no tears. They saw the wind begin to really gust but they also saw that the weather team was reporting exactly what they were seeing. By the time Irma got to Tampa she was a Category 2 and still losing strength. After the first 2hrs, my children fell asleep, fearless, like it was just a regular stormy night. I stayed awake checking in with family friends.

I saw 3:33am.

I saw the lights flicker but they never went out.

I saw a few small tree limbs just a few feet from my back door, then flashes of blue and green in the distance that were definitely not lightening. I heard the wind howling and laughed because Irma sounded a lot like Dory, from Finding Nemo, but she was drunk and trying to speak whale!

Suddenly there was a huge gust and I saw a bush fly by!

Not Funny. Just then I knew exactly what hunker down meant. It meant pour a full glass of wine, find a corner and have a seat! Eventually, I fell asleep but the silence got loud. I think my area was close to the eye of the storm because everything pretty much STOPPED. No rain and barely any strong wind. The still quiet was already so eerie, then suddenly a loud alarming chorus of frogs! It sounded as though there were a hundred right at my door. It went on like that for a good 10min. I’ve never heard anything so scary but fascinating. Then Irma was back to business gusting and howling. Monday morning I’m thankful we woke up with our lives, no damage, no flooding and full power. Most of my family and friends here feel like it wasn’t too bad, more like the severe tropical storms Floridians are accustomed to. It was a long scary night and many are without power but we are still here.

We were ready. A friend of mine noticed that Tampa is always threatened with the worst but we always get the least during hurricane season. This is true, Tampa has not had a direct, destructive hit from a hurricane since 1921! We all agree we are so blessed but fully understand that so many were not so lucky and there are so many that have nothing after Irma.

The real beauty of #FloridaStrong is that whether people left or stayed, we are all in this together and that is what will help rebuild and recover from Irma. I encourage anyone who wants to help to donate to local charities or volunteer for others rebuilding, recovering and waiting for flood waters to recede here in Tampa and in other parts of the Sunshine state.

Be A Good Neighbor.

Until Next Time, Stay Awesome.

To see more of Katrina’s writing follow the TrinityLife and shop at her online company 2Key Creations.

[si-contact-form form=’3′]