THE EERIE calm that settled over our western coastal Florida cities – including Tampa and Sarasota – belied the assault to come.
Streets that were once bustling with life now stood deserted, save for the occasional sound of hammering as residents frantically boarded up windows.
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The relentless toll – both physical and psychological – of successive violent hurricanes has left us Floridians bruised, exhausted, and on edge.
But bolstered by excellent law enforcement personnel, state leadership and community efforts, we are down but far from out.
Many were still digging out from Hurricane Helene’s devastating impact last week as we faced the inevitability of Hurricane Milton’s approach. It puts many things into perspective.
The hurdles can paralyse the imagination if you let them. With wind speeds of up to 160 miles an hour, the sheer force of impact of a storm of this magnitude is terrifying.
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For my part, we are bunkered down with sandbags under the doors to prevent flooding, praying that the electricity holds out. It followed a sleepless and agitated night – hoping for the best, but preparing for the worst.
Today, the impact of Milton is clearer. It has triggered at least 27 tornadoes, claimed the lives of at least four people and plunged millions into darkness.
As the hurricane made landfall, its winds howled like Hell’s furies, shaking the foundations of homes and businesses.
Trees that had stood for decades were uprooted in seconds, power lines snapped like twigs, and debris became deadly projectiles in Milton’s merciless winds.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis’ comprehensive response to the emergency will have undoubtedly saved countless lives.
As chief of a state that deals routinely with these weather related cries, he is battle tested.
Political tensions
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Yet in the midst of such preparations, a needless PR storm has been brewing, too.
For the likes of Kamala Harris – who as Vice President has no role whatsoever in hurricane disaster relief – the response appears to be doing her fruitless best to insert herself with a goal of scoring political points.
Take, for example, the distracting claims that “selfish” DeSantis ignored her phone calls ahead of Milton’s arrival.
“We’ve been on emergency footing around the clock, two weeks straight,” the governor later told Fox News.
“That’s been my sole focus. My focus has not been on dealing with Kamala Harris. I saw the news report. I didn’t know she tried to contact me. It’s not about you, Kamala. It’s about the people of Florida.”
The kicker? President Biden himself described DeSantis as “cooperative” and “supportive” of the federal response.
Building back stronger
The road to recovery will be long and arduous, but if there’s one thing Floridians know how to do, it’s rebuild.
In the wake of Milton’s devastation, we find ourselves at a crossroads.
The back-to-back hurricanes have exposed vulnerabilities in our federal infrastructure and disaster response systems. As we rebuild, we must do so with an eye toward resilience and sustainability.
We are seeing countless inspiring accounts across Florida, where, in past storms, residents wielded chainsaws to help clear debris from their neighbor’s yard, transcending the partisan lines of Republican red and Democrat blue to embrace a red, white, and blue neighborhood.
As we pick up the pieces of storm-battered communities, the last thing we need is political grandstanding or divisive rhetoric. Rather, we need unity, compassion, and concrete action.
The people of Florida have shown time and again that we can weather even the most fearsome natural disasters, rebuild and come back stronger.
Hurricane Milton may have waylaid us, but it will not break us.
As we face the long road to recovery, we do so with the spirit of optimism that defines the Sunshine State.
