Gina Quinn is originally from Conception Bay South but has lived in Tampa Bay for the past 20 years. She says Hurricane Milton was a scary and stressful situation. (Submitted by Gina Quinn)
Four days after Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida, one Tampa Bay resident originally from N.L. says the aftermath has come with mixed emotions.
“There’s kind of a sense of relief, even though the entire state, as far as I can see from one side to the other, is just absolutely destroyed,” Gina Quinn said on Sunday afternoon.
Quinn, who’s originally from Conception Bay South, has lived in the Tampa Bay area for the last 20 years. When Hurricane Milton hit Florida on Wednesday, she was in the middle of her shift at the Tampa General Hospital, where she works as a registered nurse.
“I work in the recovery room … but I went down to the emergency room during the storm,” Quinn said, adding that the hospital was closed at the time, with an AquaFence, a flood and hurricane barrier, set up to protect it.
“The minute that the storm passed and people could come in, they were getting inundated, ambulance after ambulance, coming from everywhere.”
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Siesta Key, about 112 kilometres south of Tampa, Fla., late Wednesday. Early reports had predicted a catastrophic storm surge for Tampa Bay, with estimates suggesting it could be as high as 15 feet. Though Milton did leave at least 17 people dead and millions more without power, that storm surge ultimately did not happen.
As she was working through the storm, Quinn didn’t see much of the hurricane first-hand. Yet, she did witness the destruction that resulted from it on her drive home from work the next day.
“Driving home was so scary. There was downed power lines everywhere. Trees were down. Some roads were completely under water. None of the traffic lights worked,” she said. “If you can imagine driving in the pitch black and then, every time you come to an intersection, there’s like 20 to 30 cars. It was crazy.”
Gina Quinn says she saw roads completely underwater on her drive home from the hospital. (Submitted by Gina Quinn)
While Quinn was at work, her partner Carlos was at home, dealing with high winds.
“At one point, the back doors were bulging and he was afraid they were going to blow in,” she said. “So, he was putting counter-pressure on the doors with his body weight.”
Ultimately, there wasn’t much damage to Quinn’s property — and other than people on nearby streets, her house never lost power.
“We were lucky, we lost some fence…. We were able to find the pieces and put it back together again. We lost some tiles on the roof,” she said.
“I’m just very, very grateful. I almost feel guilty because I did so well in the storm and I know so many people who didn’t.”
Gina Quinn took several photos of the damage she saw in her neighborhood. (Submitted by Gina Quinn)
Given the ongoing chaotic situation in the area, Quinn said she’s tried to stay home ever since.
“The gas situation is insane. People are lining up for gas, even today, and there’s still people without power, there’s still roads that are impassible,” she said. “This is going to take forever to clean up.”
Since widespread power outages have been ongoing, Quinn’s home has become a safe haven for friends and her partner’s family who needed to cool off and charge their devices.
“[A friend] came over with her two kids and played in the pool and for a few hours just pretended like it wasn’t a disaster out there,” she said.
While Gina Quinn’s home was safely outside of the flood zone, much of Florida is still dealing with flooding issues following the hurricanes. (Submitted by Gina Quinn)
With Milton arriving on the heels of Hurricane Helene, it’s been a stressful time in Florida, said Quinn, who, as so many, was relieved that a predicted storm surge never happened
“Relatively speaking, we did better than if we had to take a direct hit,” she said.
“There’s almost a sense of relief after the hurricane because even though the place is a mess and there’s no gas in it, and everything is just crazy right now, you know you survived and what’s done is done and now you just get to fixing.”
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