Growing up with a grandma living in Daytona Beach, Florida is something that many kids wish they had. My family would take many trips down to Daytona Beach to see my grandma and have some nice beach time. My grandma lived just a few short two blocks away from the Daytona Beach shore line. My family and I have made many memories spending hours on end on the beach. We made many memories on the beach but also in her home. My grandma had a quaint little house in a retirement community very close to the beach.
On Friday Oct. 7th Hurricane Matthew hit along the coast of Florida. It hit my grandmother’s neighborhood and community. Hurricane wind speeds reaching up to 74 miles per hour caused massive destruction to homes, trees, and beaches. My grandmother’s house sustained some damage. Our family is not sure of the extent of the damage to the home. However, we do know that we got lucky and the home does not have nearly as much damage as it could have.
Hurricane Matthew also hit along the coasts of South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and many caribbean islands one of which being Hati. The place that Hurricane Matthew caused the most damage was in Haiti. Hurricane Matthew first started to develop around the Caribbean Islands, which is also where it was the worst. In the Early morning of October 1st is when the storm made its big hit on the Island of Haiti. It caused massive damage to lots of homes and left many stranded.
Hurricane Matthew then hit along the coasts of Florida and Georgia on October 8th. This is also the same day that my grandmother’s home was hit. As I said before we are still unsure of the damage that the storm caused to my grandmother’s home, but we are thankful that it wasn’t as bad as it could’ve been. Storms like this can be very dangerous and life threatening. These situations can often make someone or a family lose all of their faith in ever having a home again. There are lots of things that you can do to help during times like these.
How you can help:
- The American Red Cross has set up shelters for the homeless in all of the affected areas. They are in desperate need of donations due to the amount of people that they are having to help. You can call the American Red Cross hot line at 1-800-733-2767 to make a donation. Or call the hotline to find out where the nearest donation site to you is.
- The World Vision program is in Haiti helping the hundreds of people affected by the stom. They are in desperate need of donations as supplies are running thin. You can donate here
These are just some of the things that you can do to help, and there are many more.
