Several members of the Sidwell community felt the emotional impact of two of the most devastating storms to hit the U.S. in recent memory -- Hurricane Harvey and Hurricane Irma.
History teacher Joanna Premand’s sister lives in Jacksonville, Fla., which was hit with storm surges and devastating flooding as the St. Johns River overflowed.
Her sister’s property was not in the path of the worst flooding and did not suffer serious damage, but the house still had not regained power as of publishing.
Premand said her sister’s neighborhood was located outside the mandatory evacuation zone, so her sister decided to stay put with her husband, their dog, and two cats and wait out the storm in their home.
But since she quickly lost power once the storm made landfall and wanted to preserve her phone’s battery in case of emergency, Premand and her family got no response to check-in texts or calls for nearly seven hours.
“The hardest thing about it is the duration of a hurricane,” said Premand. “It’s an hours and hours and hours long event . . . there’s the high winds, you can hear all these sounds of trees crashing, and then the power goes out so you’re sitting in the darkness -- you’re exhausted.”
Carly Passer ‘19, who lived in the Fort Lauderdale area until moving to Washington last year, also has several immediate family members and close friends who were in Irma’s path.
Passer is from Hollywood, Fla., the town where eight residents of a nursing home died on September 13 after the facility lost power and could not operate its air conditioner.
“[One of] my friends was in the mandatory evacuation zone but chose not to evacuate,” Passer said. After the storm, Passer’s friend told her by text message that his family’s house had lost power “but they’re doing well now.”
Passer lived in Florida during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and said that friends told her Irma was equally devastating.
Passer said she has heard stories of unity and cooperation as community members start to rebuild in the aftermath of the storm. She said neighbors have been relying on each other for access to electricity and phones as many areas still have not regained power.
Amelia Paulsen ‘19 was similarly affected by Hurricane Harvey. Having grown up just outside of Houston, her biggest worry during the storm was the safety and well-being of her friends, though she suffered no personal losses.
“I think the worst part was the anxiety surrounding it, because nobody really knew how hard it was going to hit. And then when we found out how horrible it was going to be, it was too late for people to leave,” said Paulsen. “So the worst part for me was the worry and the fear surrounding it, that my friends wouldn’t be okay.”
Paulsen said, “[In] my community there was the fear of not not knowing how hard it was going to hit, where it was going to hit, who’s going to be flooded, who’s not going to be able to leave, will you get trapped in your house and not have enough food or water...that was really how it affected me most.”
In terms of recovery efforts, Paulsen believes that it’s important to keep in mind that, even as the hurricane fades into the past, victims are still living in “substandard conditions” due to its effects.
She recommends that those who want to help “[donate] to charities focused on rebuilding and making sure that everyone is provided with what they need...I think that would be most helpful right now.”
Arts Department Chair David Merlin-Jones is looking into ways to help victims of the storm, such as raising money and providing support to musicians in Houston whose musical equipment was damaged by flooding.
Merlin-Jones said he is looking for a charitable organization that will directly channel donations to musicians. “We have so much [at Sidwell],” he said. “Ideally we could find a way to use it to help others.”
Sidwell’s Community Action Club has also been working to help Harvey victims, organizing a bake sale before school and during lunch on September 14 and 15 and raising $602 in proceeds, which they will donate to the Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.
“The impact caused by Hurricane Harvey and its devastation was all over the news...[especially] the strong bonds of the communities in Texas reminding us of the importance of unity during moments of crisis,” said club head Lema Gang ‘19.
“I suggested the idea of having a bake sale to raise money for the flood relief efforts happening in Houston...[but] we really couldn't have pulled it off without the time, dedication, and participation of our own Sidwell community.”
In spite of the devastation caused by the storms, Passer is optimistic about the affected communities. “As long as they have each other . . . I think [they’ll] be able to recover,” she said. “I think [everyone] will be okay."
By Kelly Anderson and Lauren Adler, September 2017
History teacher Joanna Premand’s sister lives in Jacksonville, Fla., which was hit with storm surges and devastating flooding as the St. Johns River overflowed.
Her sister’s property was not in the path of the worst flooding and did not suffer serious damage, but the house still had not regained power as of publishing.
Premand said her sister’s neighborhood was located outside the mandatory evacuation zone, so her sister decided to stay put with her husband, their dog, and two cats and wait out the storm in their home.
But since she quickly lost power once the storm made landfall and wanted to preserve her phone’s battery in case of emergency, Premand and her family got no response to check-in texts or calls for nearly seven hours.
“The hardest thing about it is the duration of a hurricane,” said Premand. “It’s an hours and hours and hours long event . . . there’s the high winds, you can hear all these sounds of trees crashing, and then the power goes out so you’re sitting in the darkness -- you’re exhausted.”
Carly Passer ‘19, who lived in the Fort Lauderdale area until moving to Washington last year, also has several immediate family members and close friends who were in Irma’s path.
Passer is from Hollywood, Fla., the town where eight residents of a nursing home died on September 13 after the facility lost power and could not operate its air conditioner.
“[One of] my friends was in the mandatory evacuation zone but chose not to evacuate,” Passer said. After the storm, Passer’s friend told her by text message that his family’s house had lost power “but they’re doing well now.”
Passer lived in Florida during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and said that friends told her Irma was equally devastating.
Passer said she has heard stories of unity and cooperation as community members start to rebuild in the aftermath of the storm. She said neighbors have been relying on each other for access to electricity and phones as many areas still have not regained power.
Amelia Paulsen ‘19 was similarly affected by Hurricane Harvey. Having grown up just outside of Houston, her biggest worry during the storm was the safety and well-being of her friends, though she suffered no personal losses.
“I think the worst part was the anxiety surrounding it, because nobody really knew how hard it was going to hit. And then when we found out how horrible it was going to be, it was too late for people to leave,” said Paulsen. “So the worst part for me was the worry and the fear surrounding it, that my friends wouldn’t be okay.”
Paulsen said, “[In] my community there was the fear of not not knowing how hard it was going to hit, where it was going to hit, who’s going to be flooded, who’s not going to be able to leave, will you get trapped in your house and not have enough food or water...that was really how it affected me most.”
In terms of recovery efforts, Paulsen believes that it’s important to keep in mind that, even as the hurricane fades into the past, victims are still living in “substandard conditions” due to its effects.
She recommends that those who want to help “[donate] to charities focused on rebuilding and making sure that everyone is provided with what they need...I think that would be most helpful right now.”
Arts Department Chair David Merlin-Jones is looking into ways to help victims of the storm, such as raising money and providing support to musicians in Houston whose musical equipment was damaged by flooding.
Merlin-Jones said he is looking for a charitable organization that will directly channel donations to musicians. “We have so much [at Sidwell],” he said. “Ideally we could find a way to use it to help others.”
Sidwell’s Community Action Club has also been working to help Harvey victims, organizing a bake sale before school and during lunch on September 14 and 15 and raising $602 in proceeds, which they will donate to the Greater Houston Community Foundation’s Hurricane Harvey Relief Fund.
“The impact caused by Hurricane Harvey and its devastation was all over the news...[especially] the strong bonds of the communities in Texas reminding us of the importance of unity during moments of crisis,” said club head Lema Gang ‘19.
“I suggested the idea of having a bake sale to raise money for the flood relief efforts happening in Houston...[but] we really couldn't have pulled it off without the time, dedication, and participation of our own Sidwell community.”
In spite of the devastation caused by the storms, Passer is optimistic about the affected communities. “As long as they have each other . . . I think [they’ll] be able to recover,” she said. “I think [everyone] will be okay."
By Kelly Anderson and Lauren Adler, September 2017
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