Despite being thousands of miles away from the storm, dozens of Grosse Pointe families have still been affected by the recent hurricanes. Families have lost sleep worrying about damage to second homes and the safety of their relatives in the states where the hurricanes hit. With virtually no way to prepare from so far away, families are left to sit and worry.
For Jack Finazzo ’25 and his family, their second home for nearly 30 years in Siesta Key, Florida did see some damage and caused a lot of worry leading up to and during the recent hurricanes. With virtually no way to prepare for the storms from so far away, families are left to sit and worry.
“We didn’t really have time to prepare for it, so we just accepted that the property wouldn’t be the same as we left it,” Finazzo said. “But during the storm both of my parents would frequently check our home’s cameras and the news to see the damage.”
Since the Atlantic hurricane season began, there have been 13 named storms and eight of them have been deadly. Initial estimates on property damages for both Hurricane Helene and Milton is as high as 55 billion dollars and it will take years to restore the damage.
“We had a lot of down trees, sand from the beach and tons and tons of debris washed up,” Finazzo said. “Although the damage was bad, it doesn’t even come close to the horror some Florida residents had to endure. We were relieved that our family was not there.”
Rick and Cindi Portwood, parents of South alumni Ally ‘16 and Max ‘18, faced more extreme damage at their beloved family home in Longboat Key, Florida about 10-15 miles from the eye of Hurricane Milton.
“We were unable to prepare because we were in Michigan and as the storms get nearer they close the airports,” Cindi Portwood said. “Bridges were also damaged and no one could get on the island for a few days until they were fixed.”
The home has been in their family for 36 years and they have never seen damage this bad before.
“About four feet of water came into the ground level and a huge workshop area got lots of water and the items in there, like power tools, gardening tools, fishing equipment, and outdoor furniture were probably floating all over the place,” Portwood said. “All of the pool equipment has to be replaced, the screened in porch had most of its screens ripped off, and two cars that were in the garage are now unsalvageable.”
South graduate Jack Wittwer, now lives in Charlotte, North Carolina and was just a few hours away from Hurricane Helene. Hurricane Helene claimed 125 lives in North Carolina and left 92 people still unaccounted for.
“It was scary, luckily we didn’t get hit too hard in Charlotte, but my girlfriend and I were supposed to be in Asheville the day entire towns got wiped out,” Wittwer said. “It could have been really bad for us.”
Since Charlotte didn’t experience the same devastation that other parts of North Carolina did, teams in their city are doing everything they can to help those in need. Charlotte sent law enforcement, first responders and water rescue teams to Asheville to help those affected by the hurricane.
“The construction company I work for has been driving out supplies and offering hands to help clear some of the disaster out,” Wittwer said.
Hurricane Helene left the western parts of North Carolina with extreme devastation. Some families lost their homes in mudslides and floods, and are still left searching for missing loved ones.
“Entire lives have been destroyed. Can you imagine everything you’ve ever known and grown up with just suddenly washing away?” Wittwer said
