Student Stories: When Your Apartment Floods due to a Hurricane

My boyfriend Jack Carr and his father David Carr float belongings out of our apartment at the Place at Alafaya on Sept. 12, 2017. Photo by Isabelle D’Antonio

We’ve featured journalism student Isabelle D’Antonio’s first-hand account of what happened to her during Hurricane Irma. Her story was first published on the NSM Today website.

by Isabelle D’Antonio

I’ve lived in Florida for more than 11 years and I’ve never taken hurricanes seriously. They were always just an excuse to get out of school, eat tons of junk food and read books by candlelight.

Hurricane Irma was a little more concerning due to the forecasters predicting its insane wind speeds and widespread destructive impacts, but I still didn’t think much of it. My most pressing concern was what snacks to buy and where to acquire an air mattress to camp out at the downtown newspaper office where I worked.

Working at the paper Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 was hectic, but an opportunity to bond with my colleagues (as we were stuck together in the newsroom) and learn about covering a true storm. I stayed up with my coworkers till 2 a.m. to watch the storm at its worst – and even stood outside for a quick second to witness its fury.

I woke up Sept. 11 tired and a little achy from sleeping on the floor, but ready to work. My shift started at 2 p.m. and it was going fine until I got a text from my boyfriend, who I live with, at 6:30 p.m., saying I shouldn’t come home.

Read the rest of D’Antonio’s story on Nicholson Student Media.