Delaware pitching in after Irma

Delaware again is stepping up to help those impacted by tropical storms slamming the southern United States.

In the wake of Hurricane Irma, which dissipated several days after making landfall in the Florida Keys, staff from the Delaware Department of Transportation headed to Florida to assist with recovery efforts.

About two dozen employees left Georgetown Sept. 11 for Tallahassee, where they will take loaders, chainsaws and other equipment to help with debris removal and cleanup for the next two weeks.

"Delaware was proud to be among the states offering assistance to those affected by Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma," said Gov. John Carney. "I'm grateful to the state employees and members of the National Guard who are serving our neighbors in Texas, South Carolina, and Florida as they begin the recovery process."

Delaware was one of the first states to answer Florida's call for help, said DelDOT spokesman C.R. McLeod.

“We also have a team of bridge inspectors on standby to go to Florida should they request their assistance,” he said.

A small team from the Delaware Emergency Management Agency also traveled to South Carolina's emergency operations center, but returned home because the storm did not hit South Carolina, state officials said.

Irma barreled west across the Atlantic Ocean and slammed the Caribbean before it hit the Florida Keys Sept. 10 as a Category 4 hurricane with winds over 100 mph. Naples, Fla., experienced the most intense wind speeds, with peak gusts recorded at 142 mph, National Hurricane Center data show.

The storm dumped nearly 16 inches of rain in some areas of Florida, where millions of people lost electricity and thousands hunkered down in local shelters. The Associated Press has reported at least 24 people have been killed in Florida, Georgia and South Carolina, while at least 37 deaths resulted from Irma's impact on the Caribbean. Some deaths came during recovery, as a result of crashes and a lack of electricity for air conditioning at a Hollywood, Fla., nursing home, the AP reported.

The devastation comes less than two weeks after Hurricane Harvey battered Texas and the Gulf Coast, where Delaware organizations and residents also stepped up to help displaced families and pets. Many communities are still reeling from flood damage caused by the storm, which experts estimate caused billions in damages.

Irma weakened after making landfall with rain and wind spreading to the Carolinas, Alabama and Tennessee. Delmarva saw a high risk of dangerous rip tides in the wake of the storm, with high surf along the ocean caused by swells generated by Irma and now Hurricane Jose.

Hurricane Jose, which trailed Irma's development, weakened to a tropical storm Sept. 14, as it meandered over the open ocean with winds reaching 70 mph. Forecasters say the storm is relatively disorganized, but expect Jose may strengthen again as it loops to the north and toward the East Coast. As of Sept. 14, it was too soon to tell whether the storm will remain at sea.

For current weather forecasts, go to weather.gov.

Delawareans weather the storm

Dale and Sue Lomas were visiting their villa on St. Barthelemy when reports started coming in that a hurricane was forming over the Atlantic Ocean.

By the time models warned the storm might hit the Leeward Islands, it was too late to leave. There's no large airport on St. Barts, and during the off-season, Dale said, only a few puddle-jumpers fly to and from the island.

The Lewes residents decided to hunker down. They left their villa, grabbed whatever food they had and headed to a nearby motel where they stayed with several others unable to leave before Hurricane Irma reached the island as a Category 5 storm.

The morning of Sept. 5, the winds were picking up. By sunset, he said, it was even more intense.

“Then, about 3 a.m. – we didn't sleep all night – there came this sound that I'll never forget,” he said. “And it just started blowing.”

They pushed furniture up against the door, which they thought would blow off at any minute. Dale said he and his wife just sat awake, staring at the door, hoping it would hold. He recalled a palm tree whizzing past the window as the storm flung debris and roofs blew off.

“Around 5 a.m., that's when the eye came, and all of a sudden it just stopped,” he said. “But when the eye came through, you knew you were going to have to deal with this all over again.”

Dale and Sue weathered the storm just fine, although their villa lost its tin roof and something left large punctures in the 2-inch thick wood left behind beneath the tin. Within days, local residents had collected all the debris and piled it alongside the road in 8-foot-high piles, he said.

“The people of this particular island are probably some of the best people in the world, and they're really doing a fantastic job cleaning everything up,” he said. “If people can support them on this island or any other island after hurricane season ends, if they can travel or vacation there, they're going to need all the help they can get.”

In Orlando, where former Milton resident Darin Lockwood lives, it looks like a war zone, even though the brunt of the storm didn't hit the city.

“Power companies have sent plenty of crews down here, and I think that's the biggest thing we could use,” he said. “The biggest part we're dealing with now is the devastation of the grid.”

Lockwood said his friends in the Florida Keys witnessed the heaviest devastation stateside. Structural damage in the Orlando area is minimal because building codes were updated after a series of hurricanes hit the state in 2004, he said.

But in Key West, he said, friends with older houses saw their homes split in two.

“It's all gone,” he said.

Jack Royal, a Rehoboth Beach resident, also owns a house in Coral Bay, St. John. His home on the isolated area of the island suffered serious damage, but is still standing with its roof intact, he said. A neighbor's house on the hill didn't fare so well: It broke apart, sliding down the hill and crashing into Royal's side staircase.

“We got hit with the full brunt of the storm,” he said. “All the telephone poles and wires are down. There's debris on the roads. There's no cellphone service and no electricity. It's hard to keep in touch with people.”

St. John also is a tight-knit community, he said, that will need help recovering from the damage.

“In Florida, it might be a week before they get power, but down there, it could be four or five months before they get power back because the infrastructure is so fragile,” he said. “It's a whole different ball game. But everybody down there is very strong. Obviously the most important thing is human life, and everything else is fixable. I feel so fortunate.”

Other ways to help

• A benefit for the residents of St. John hit hard by Hurricane Irma will be held from 4 to 9 p.m., Wednesday, Sept. 27, at Obie's by the Sea in Rehoboth Beach. The event includes a $20 donation at the door, and will include a Caribbean buffet, cash bar, door prizes, silent auction and raffles. All bartender tips will directly benefit St. John Rescue. For more information, search “Obie's Support for St. John, USVI” on Facebook, or contact Jack Royal at captjackroyal@yahoo.com or 302-727-3366.
• Marissa Cordell of Easy Speak, a new restaurant coming to Milford, is looking for donations of food items, frozen food, flashlights, first aid kits and other light items to take to Florida. Cordell said she is planning a trip down sometime during the week of Sept. 18. For more or to donate, contact Cordell at marissa@easyspeakspirits.com or 302-858-1875.
• La Vida Hospitality will host benefits at three of its restaurants Friday, Sept. 15, through Sunday, Sept. 17. Fundraisers will be held Sept. 15 at Fork and Flask at Nage, Sept. 16 at Crooked Hammock Brewery and Sept. 17 at Big Chill Beach Club and Big Chill Surf Cantina. For more, go to fundly.com/virgin-islands-relief.
• Dr. Uday Jani of Shore View Personalized Care and RISE Fitness and Adventure is looking for 50 volunteers to join the Rise Against Hunger team Sunday, Sept. 24, from 1-3 p.m. to feed the hungry in Delaware as well as help those in Texas and Florida through a meal-packaging event. The event will be held at 35770 Airport Road in Rehoboth Beach. Registration is $50, which will cover packaging materials and food items. To register, call 302-684-0990, 302-567-2112 or stop by Shore View at 28312 Lewes-Georgetown Highway in Milton or RISE, 35770 Airport Road in Rehoboth Beach.
• To donate directly to St. Barts recovery efforts, go to gofundme.com/stbarthstrong1.
• To donate to St. John recovery efforts, go to stjohnrescue.com.
• Donate to the American Red Cross at redcross.org/donate/hurricane-irma-donations.
• For a list of members of the National Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster, a FEMA-approved way to help those affected by Irma, go to nvoad.org/voad-members/national-members.
• AARP, AARP Foundation and the Miami Dolphins will match donations dollar-for-dollar up to $750,000 to help victims of Hurricane Irma. To donate, go to aarpfoundation.org/Irma.
• Schell Brothers and Two Men and a Truck are partnering with the Home Builders Association of Delaware to collect items for flood victims in Texas. They will be collecting supplies Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 23-24. For more, go to facebook.com/schellbrothershomes.
• To read about local efforts to assist victims of Hurricane Harvey, go to capegazette.com/node/141134.
• For more ways to help and avoid fundraising scams, go to fema.gov.