Many of us are still struggling to wrap our minds around the immense toll of Hurricane Ian. The powerful storm that ripped across Florida last week, bringing record winds and flooding, has left areas from southwest Florida to north Florida devastated and tens of thousands of people displaced or without power or water. The economic damage has been estimated over $100 billion, and we haven’t realized the full extent of the storm’s lasting environmental damage. Of course, the human toll will be the most catastrophic cost, with deaths attributed to the storm surpassing 100 as of Tuesday morning.
Nature can be brutally destructive. But it is also resilient. The calm after a storm always clears a path for new beginnings, and the darkest moments can bring out the best in people — as neighbors, family, friends and strangers band together to rebuild. It will take time, but Florida will recover.
A short poem entitled “The Storm” by Elizabeth Coatsworth captures what we’re feeling after Ian:
In fury and terror
the tempest broke,
it tore up the pine
and shattered the oak,
yet the hummingbird hovered
within the hour
sipping clear rain
from the trumpet flower.
Never lose hope. We’re in this together.
