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NEWS

Florida's summer hurricanes affect NU students and families

By Nicole Crum
Norwich Guidon Staff Writer

This summer, Florida was devastated with the worst hurricane season in decades, a fact that left many Norwich University students worried about the safety of their family members living there.

In a typical year, only one to two hurricanes will hit the Florida shoreline. So far this year, Florida has been hit directly by four hurricanes, all within the last few months.

Starting in August, with hurricane Charley, other hurricanes: Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne, ripped through the state, leaving over 70 dead and causing billions of dollars in damage.

Sergio Castillejo, 18, a freshman computer science major from North Beach, Fla., knows firsthand what it is like to go through a hurricane.

His house is “about 20 miles from each hurricane that’s hit,” he said. Before he left for Norwich, hurricane Charley hit his area.

Castillejo’s family suffered high winds, the uprooting of a large oak tree next to the driveway, and some minor damage to their patio.

Megan Goodrich, 19, a freshman architecture major from Norwich, Vt., has family in Port Charlotte, Fla. She said they were forced to evacuate when Charley hit.

“My grandmother lived in an RV, so she had to get out of there before it hit,” Goodrich said.

Castillejo and his family waited out the storm at home. “I played video games with my brother, and we watched the damage fly by the window,” he said.

“This is the most hurricanes we’ve ever had hit,” Castillejo said, adding that his area hadn’t been hit at all since hurricane Andrew in 1992.

“You expect them to come, and you get prepared if one heads your way, but you don’t really worry,” Castillejo said, explaining how that allowed many people to get caught off guard by this summer’s non-stop pounding.

Florida’s residents are still cleaning up.

Castillejo’s family spent an entire day picking up debris from their yard, and his father has gone to other areas that were hit harder to help with Red Cross clean-up efforts.

“My dad told me about it, and it’s pretty tough to go down there and watch and clean up everything,” Castillejo said. “You can send a pencil through a tree. That’s how bad the winds were down there.”

Hearing about the damage wasn’t easy for Goodrich.

“Since my family was traveling, we didn’t hear from them,” she said. “So it was hard not knowing if they were okay. It was a little stressful to have them be right there when the hurricanes were coming.”

Castillejo agrees that it is definitely more to worry about, especially since there have been so many hurricanes this year.

“It’s kind of tough trying to figure out if they’re okay each time that a hurricane has passed and another one is going to hit in a couple of days,” Castillejo said, “they say it’s okay, and they’ve been through a lot worse.”

The Norwich Guidon is a twice-monthly student newspaper distributed at Norwich University. It provides laboratory experience for students in the Communications program. Claims asserted by letter writers, editorials and other articles do not represent the positions of Norwich University. The Norwich Guidon welcomes signed letters to the editor. They should be no longer than 300 words. Unsigned letters will not be printed, but names may be withheld upon worthy request. All letters are subject to editing for length and good taste. Mailing address: The Norwich Guidon, Communications Center, Norwich University, 158 Harmon Dr, Northfield, VT 05663. www.norwich.edu/guidon.