As a child, my family and I planned annual trips to the state of Jalisco in Mexico to visit our family members. Each year we took a different method of getting to our destination. Some years we would enjoy a two day road trip while other times we would enjoy the view from a three hour flight. In 2006, we decided that we would drive so that we could load the truck with gifts for our family. This particular year I was excited because we were going to be traveling in September rather than during summer.
One September morning my parents loaded up the truck and we headed out to our destination. My grandmother was sharing stories with me and my younger brothers as we drove through the different states. We arrived in Sinaloa, midway to Jalisco,
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It was around 9a.m. when drops of rain starting falling and just five minutes later we found ourselves in a horribly strong storm. The radio went out and the only station we were able to listen to was the news station. My mother was listening to the news as my father was cautiously driving through the storm. I was terrified in the back seat as the wind pushed our loaded truck around and knocked down trees, making them land directly in front of us. I watched my father struggle to keep the truck on the road but it seemed as if Mother Nature didn’t want us to advance much further so my father parked us safely under a freeway overpass. It was exactly 11a.m. when we came to a complete stop and heard the news station announce that our location was getting hit by a hurricane. At that moment we all turned to one another with a blank expression on our faces. We sat in the shaking truck watching as trailer trucks, travel buses, and families pulled up next to us, everyone of them trying to get safely under the freeway overpass. We watched in horror as strong trees and trailer trucks were pushed over by the wind. The passengers from the travel buses screamed each time the force of the wind would shatter one of their windows. Once all the windows were broken, the passengers began to use their blankets and unused shirts to cover the broken windows to avoid things from flying …show more content…
From that, we learned the hurricane was only getting stronger. We sat watching as trees kept falling and the sides of the road starting turning into rivers. Soon, the road started to disappear under all the water. Some time in the afternoon the storm had calmed down enough for us to try to move forward. My father along with other drivers started driving forward assuming where the road would be since it was not visible. We drove on the ocean-like ground for about five minutes when suddenly the water started pushing our truck off the road. We made it on top of a hill where we found other people soaking wet. They explained that the freeway overpass they were under had collapsed because of the powerful winds of the hurricane and there was no way around it. Since the road was blocked off with the fallen bridge and the road was a river all we could do was go back before the hurricane picked up
In 2009, my parents and I decided to travel to San Antonio, Texas for vacation. My parents and I have traveled there before, but we enjoyed it so much that we decided to go back. With many places to see and do; my parents thought that we should go to Six Flags Fiesta Texas. It was at this theme park, where something happened that I would never forget.
Imagine a family sitting at home watching a calm game of baseball, when suddenly they realize that a massive wall of water is approaching the neighborhood. Where did this flash flood come from, a reader might ask? The wall of water was made by the raging winds and immense power of Hurricane Andrew. Hurricane Andrew was the second most expensive storm in history that destroyed over 250,000 homes in the states of Florida and Louisiana alone. Hurricane Andrew was not predicted to make landfall, so when it did many civilians did not have any idea that the Hurricane was coming until it was almost too late.
rainstorm, and was positive one was coming. The wind started to howl, so strong that it
Hurricane Katrina left a devastating scar on the citizens of the southern coast of the U.S., especially New Orleans, Louisiana. The category 5 hurricane was the costliest natural disaster, as well as one of the most deadly. Katrina hit New Orleans on August 29th, 2005 and after that day, 66,000 people were displaced from their homes. Of those who decided to ride out the storm with hopes of success and survival as they had experienced with other storms, they were found on their rooftops, in their attics, hoping for boat or helicopter rescue, relying on others for help to survive. The storm had reached 28,000 square feet inward to Louisiana, which was 60 percent of the state. 1,100 Louisianans lost their lives, and 200,000 were displaced and/or lost their homes (Davis 8). It was a devastating time of despair and suffering. People were put through experiences that would scar them for a long time. While preparing for evacuation, people left most of their belongings at home to flee to a safer city or to find shelter in the Superdome and Convention Center. Some even decided to remain in their boarded up homes. After the hurricane had past, a few hours went by and a levee located near the Mississippi River canal broke leaving New Orleans flooded (Delisi). After the disaster, the state and federal governments were pointing fingers at each other as to who was to blame for the poorly planned evacuation and rescue efforts for the victims. The state government promised to help evacuate those who could not transport themselves. Citizens were told to go to the Superdome and convention center for evacuation, but the supplies needed for survi...
Hurricane Hugo was a tragic natural disaster that completely altered the lives of many people affected by it. In 1989, the year I was born, my parents and I lived on an oceanfront lot in Myrtle Beach. When Hugo struck, most of the city was flooded, with some areas under twenty five inches of water. A clear evacuation plan was presented, which most of the city’s residents followed, traveling north to Greenville. When we returned to our house, we found nothing but rubble and debris piled up in twelve inches of salt water. The President flew to the areas affected by Hugo to view the devastation, and immediately gr...
From the first nigh the storm took over the city of Houston many people waited out for the storm to just pass by from their homes. Thousands of people refused to evacuate after the warnings of heavy rains and high rise of waters. Unfortunately, many regret not leaving their homes when they were told to do so. “Now they're having to be rescued,” Alston said. “If we had known it would be like this, I think we would've left.” (Malewitz). The situation became difficult once the rescue team
On September 8, 1900, the United States experienced the most devastating natural disaster in history, the 1900 storm. Originating as a tropical storm off the coast of Cuba, the 1900 storm didn’t reach hurricane status until passing Key West, Florida. While in the eastern part of the Gulf of Mexico, the storm took an unexpected turn heading towards the Texas coast. Because of the lack of technology during this era, the people were warned that a storm of moderate intensity was headed toward them. Unaware that the storm was forcefully gaining speed, the Galvestonians were in no way prepared for the extraordinary weather which was quietly approaching. Suddenly, the ruthless hurricane struck the shores of Galveston, Texas, one of the wealthiest cities in the United States, famous for its shipping port. The brutal winds of the storm shocked the city, as they desperately sought shelter.
We started our travels down in Columbus Ohio. The week leading up to the big move we spent at Deer Creek State park, for a family reunion, where my dad and step mom, had the chance to see everyone again, before the journey began. Over all we had taken nine days to get to our destination. First stop, Saint Louis, Missouri, we stopped to see the Gateway Arch. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be, so of course I was pretty amazed. The first few days were our longest driving days, but sense we broke up the days, our longest day was eight hours. The second day was the worst, Oklahoma is so boring to drive through, and nothing but flat crop farms, and wind turbines everywhere you look. We drove till we got about seventy five miles from the boarder of New Mexico, And Oklahoma. We got up early and began a shorter dive to Albuquerque, New Mexico, where we went to Petroglyph National Monument, yeah it was interesting, but after you see a few hundred, they all start to look the same. The next morning we took a beautiful hike and took many pictures to capture the moment. Other than getting there, my favorite part of the trip, was Arizona, where we stayed four days in Flagstaff, one day in Holbrook, and one day in Phoenix. I wouldn’t mind if I lived in Arizona, it’s a very beautiful state. My family and I stopped by the Petrified Forest National Park, and I
“August 2000, our family of six was on the way to a wedding. It was a rainy day, and Gregg was not familiar with the area. The car hit standing water in the high-way, and started hydro-planing. Greg lost control of the car. Then, the car went backwards down into a ditch and started sliding on its wheels sideways. After sliding for 100 feet or so, the car flipped, at least once. After flipping, the car came to rest on its wheels, and the passenger window broke out.
In August 2005, at the tender age of 7, I received the most devastating news. I was told by my family that a hurricane was coming to my city, New Orleans, Louisiana. Because of this storm, Hurricane Katrina, I was told that I would most likely have to move away for a long time, meaning the rest of my life. My family and I lost everything, and the hurricane ended up destroying the entire city completely. This was heartbreaking to me for a plethora of reasons, including that I lost loved ones and was separated from the rest of my family at such an early age. This ravaging storm marked the most drastic change of my life.
A little over ten years ago, a catastrophic event struck the American shoreline and left devastating effects for years to come. It was very early in the morning on August 29, 2005; Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast of the United States. For days before, the hurricane could be charted by various meteorologists so there was no mystery that a very large storm was approaching a very vulnerable part of the United States coast line. The storm made landfall as a Category 3, meaning sustained winds of 100–140 miles per hour. The hurricane stretched some 400 miles across. While the storm hit relatively quickly and harshly, its aftermath was the most catastrophic. Levee breaches led to massive flooding.
Picture this, you laying on top of you car as you are being violently slung down your street, which was once dry and calm and is now wet and foreign, at an extremely rapid pace. You can’t find your family and all you can do is hope that they haven’t drowned and are able to stay afloat against the violent waters that are angrily attempting to destroy everything in its path. You look around the weather is gray and it’s raining heavily. It is a struggle to breathe between the rapid rain and the violent waters which are attempting to pull you under, forever. Your house no longer exists it is broken down from the pounding waters and fast winds. That is exactly what it would be like if you were in the midst of a hurricane. After hurricanes are over the confusion is crazy, children who had loving families are now orphaned, people become homeless, and people miss certain joys such as walking due to becoming paralyzed.
...e roads and highways will be jammed with frantic people trying to reach safety. You should always listen and follow any given directions immediately. If you don’t have to leave, put all the outside things that might blow away in a safe place such as lawn furniture, bicycles, and toys. Water mains can also break, so filling containers with drinking water is a good idea. Put enough to last several days.
She began her personal narrative by explaining that through her profession, she was very used to hurricane constantly failing to live up to the warnings issued. Therefore, she and her family moved to one of her friends’ houses that were more equipped to handle strong winds and flooding. Unfortunately, as the storm started to arrive, falling trees and increasing flood waters started to concern her because she was the main person who reiterated to her family that they would whether the storm without harm. She said the point in which everything took a turn for the worst was when a huge tree crashed through the house prompting them to evacuate. In the aftermath, she recounted the multiple times that looters would try and salvage any remains for people’s houses. On the other hand, my aunt’s personal story was vastly different because she chose to evacuate in just enough time to miss the brunt of the storm. She described the early indications of the storm by strong winds and heavy rains from the outer bands of the hurricane, which caused for the travel to become difficult with thousands of other evacuees following suit. Her description of returning to New Orleans after the storm was quite surprising because her town apparently did not suffer as much damage as other towns. Overall, these personal accounts allowed for me to see personalized
Towards the end of 1989, my family and I were on vacation in Fort Myers, Florida. We drove from Trenton, New Jersey all the way to Florida where my grandfather lived. It was a long trip to undergo, especially being six years old and knowing that my father never stopped the car. By the time we arrived at Fort Myers, it was a beautiful sunny day. The wind was gusting enough to pull my hair back, and I was admiring the palm trees, coconuts, and lizards near the Gulf of Mexico. The first few days were nice, but little did I know that I would soon be caught in the middle of a twister.