Two BVNW alumni share their first hand experience of the preparation for Hurricane Irma heading towards Florida. Carly Robinette, a 2017 graduate attends Florida State University. Also graduating in 2017, Addie Hulet lives in Florida attending Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.

Wednesday Sept. 6:

Carly Robinette: “At the moment, the hurricane has not quite reached Tallahassee (where my school is), so the weather hasn’t been too unusual yet,” Robinette said. “However, I know that the majority of the grocery stores in the area are out of drinking water because of the panic.”

Addie Hulet: “We were told today at 11 that campus would be closed at 5 p.m. There were no classes, and students were told they must evacuate. I had drill at 5 a.m. today, as we were marching the clouds were noticeably darker, and there weren’t as many swarms of bugs as usual. Throughout the day, my campus has become a desert. All of my roomates have already left. One is going to Georgia, the other New Jersey, and the final one is going to Tampa. I am going to Orlando. We have been studying the hurricane in my Meteorology class. The hurricane shows signs of 140 MPH winds coming towards Orlando. The tropical storm Jose looks as though it will push Irma straight up the east coast. Winds and pressure are expected to be worse than Katrina. Katrina was a category 3 hurricane, this is a category 5 hurricane. My dorm windows are built only to withstand a category 3 hurricane. Our items have been thrown in trash bags, and all electrical items were unplugged. We shoved everything into our bathroom and locked the door. Our trunks were covered in plastic wrap and locked. This week I noticed the waves to become stronger, especially today when I surfed. The tide is much stronger than normal. It knocks me off my feet if I dont place myself.  When I went to the store yesterday everything was gone. There was only a few gaterade bottles left, absolutely no water and hardly any canned food. I waited 20 minutes in line to pay for 30 dollars worth of groceries. All the gas stations were full, three places we went to were sold out. We waited 20 mins in line for gas, the prices were noticeably higher. Students have been storming the cafeteria to use up their meal plans and buy groceries. My classes are half full, as many have left to prepare to evacuate or to drive. The traffic is already miserable. I will not be leaving until tonight or late tomorrow. I have to stay for ROTC and come early for clean up missions.

I am not religious but Lord I hope someone is watching out for us now.”

Update: Saturday September 9

“The hurricane has not quite hit us yet, but it is expected to hit tomorrow,” Robinette said. “We have been instructed to to buy bottled water, flashlights, non-perishable food, portable chargers, and to withdraw cash from the ATM’s in case the power goes out. Classes were cancelled in the entire state of Florida on Friday through at least Tuesday at the moment. Some people in Tallahassee are choosing to evacuate, but many (including me) are staying in the dorms because they are very sturdy, safe buildings made of brick and concrete. We have already had some people from Miami evacuate to Tallahassee, at least for a night. Tallahassee could get hit pretty badly though.”

Update: Monday September 11

Carly Robinette: “Cancellation of classes were extended to Friday of this week, so we don’t have class all week,” Robinette said. “Apparently the worst already came, [the hurricane] is in Georgia now. Nothing really happened. Some dorms lost power, but ours didn’t. I have not been outside, but it looks like some branches are scattered on the ground. Most of the severe damage occurred in South Florida. Miami and the Keys are wrecked, sadly. One of my friends in Melbourne, however, lost power in her house, but the house itself is intact.”

Addie Hulet: “I’m in Orlando and will be back in Daytona probably later,” Hulet said. “I heard it got hit really hard there. The eye of the hurricane passed over us at and it was terrifying. This all happened around 2 a.m. We lost power and it got extremely hot. You could feel the windows shaking and I was just waiting for one to burst. You could hear things crashing and trees falling but you couldn’t see anything because it was pitch black. Our house was okay, although it had some tree damage. I heard Daytona took a huge beating so I will probably be there this week to clean it up.”

Update: Thursday September 14

Carly Robinette: “Not much has changed here in Tallahassee besides certain businesses closing for the duration of the week. Everything should be fully functioning by next week. Beyond that, I know there is a shortage of fuel because millions of people evacuated and are trying to return to south Florida.”

We will update this story as we receive more information.