Hurricane Irma

Hurricane Central: https://weather.com/storms/hurricane-central

National Hurricane Center: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/

This past weekend has been a tad stressful for many reasons, two being a final project in studio and, more importantly, Hurricane Irma. A large majority of my family and friends reside in Florida so this storm would have had it’s impact on me no matter where it landed on the peninsula. Thankfully with the use of modern technology (cell phones are a blessing!) I was able to keep in contact with everyone in the state before, during, and, though not as easily, after.

Everyone I know lost power, most had water boil notices, but luckily there was minimal damage to any property. The surge most were expecting, thankfully for us, hit another neighborhood. More importantly nobody was injured by the storm, everyone found a safe shelter to stay in. At this time there are only a few without power still but water seems to be back.

Penn Design’s response to this storm really stood out to me. Last week on Thursday I received an email from within PennDesign reaching out to offer their support in the wake of the storm. This little gesture of kindness was really uplifting. It’s an odd feeling to be so far away, stressing and working towards a small project as if it meant so much, yet anxiously tracking a storm that could well have turned my families and friends lives upside down. I am thankful we have been so lucky this time around and hope that there are no more to come this season.

Penn Design’s post hurricane response, besides the general offers of support, have included a discussion seminar entitled “Harvey and Irma: Where do we go from here?” to be held in Meyerson Hall Lower Gallery on September 26th at 6:00 pm. I hope to make it to this discussion and in time incorporate solutions into my designs rather than keep producing more problems.