2008 Woodie Awards
Floridians still trying to rebuild their lives
Erika Grados
Issue date: 10/14/04 Section: News
Life is finally beginning to return to normal for many U.S. residents affected by this year's devastating hurricane season.
Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne were the four major storms that ravaged the nation's southeast this season. In less than two months, they caused billions of dollars in damage, rendered over 80,000 people homeless in eight states, and were responsible for over 114 deaths in the United States alone, according to a CNN.com article.
Mary DeBenedetto, resident of Hutchinson Island, Florida, lost her home to Hurricane Frances.
"I lived in an apartment complex ... which was almost completely destroyed," she said. "Thank God I left my windows boarded up, because a lot of my belongings were salvaged."
DeBenedetto, who is currently staying with relatives in Edgewater, N.J., knows she is lucky to have evacuated the state before it was too late.
"A lot of people ignored the warnings at first, and then wanted to evacuate once they realized how bad it would get," she said. "But if you didn't get off the island in time, you were stuck - there was no way out."
Theresa Rios, resident of Miramar, Florida, was left without power in her home for four days.
"We had to go stay with relatives in Jacksonville because we had no power, no phones, nothing," she said.
The hurricanes hit Florida the hardest, leaving millions without power for several weeks and one in every five homes damaged. According to National Geographic News, this hurricane season marks the first time a state was battered by four hurricanes in succession since 1866, when four hurricanes ripped through Texas.
Since the hurricanes caused so much damage, the restoration effort is ongoing in many of the most affected areas. According to the Florida Sun-Sentinel, the devastation left in the wake of Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne has prompted the largest relief effort ever on the part of the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA).
Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne were the four major storms that ravaged the nation's southeast this season. In less than two months, they caused billions of dollars in damage, rendered over 80,000 people homeless in eight states, and were responsible for over 114 deaths in the United States alone, according to a CNN.com article.
Mary DeBenedetto, resident of Hutchinson Island, Florida, lost her home to Hurricane Frances.
"I lived in an apartment complex ... which was almost completely destroyed," she said. "Thank God I left my windows boarded up, because a lot of my belongings were salvaged."
DeBenedetto, who is currently staying with relatives in Edgewater, N.J., knows she is lucky to have evacuated the state before it was too late.
"A lot of people ignored the warnings at first, and then wanted to evacuate once they realized how bad it would get," she said. "But if you didn't get off the island in time, you were stuck - there was no way out."
Theresa Rios, resident of Miramar, Florida, was left without power in her home for four days.
"We had to go stay with relatives in Jacksonville because we had no power, no phones, nothing," she said.
The hurricanes hit Florida the hardest, leaving millions without power for several weeks and one in every five homes damaged. According to National Geographic News, this hurricane season marks the first time a state was battered by four hurricanes in succession since 1866, when four hurricanes ripped through Texas.
Since the hurricanes caused so much damage, the restoration effort is ongoing in many of the most affected areas. According to the Florida Sun-Sentinel, the devastation left in the wake of Charley, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne has prompted the largest relief effort ever on the part of the Federal Emergency Management Association (FEMA).