Living near a lake, junior Morgan Thornley was obligated to fully prepare for the hurricane. Tying down her jet-skis, canoes, kayaks and her boat more securely than usual and boarding up her house, Thornley prepared for Irma and its damage. The day before the hurricane hit, Thornley lost power, however, her and her family stayed at a neighbor’s house since they had a full house generator. When Thornley came back to her house, she saw the damage the hurricane had caused: completely submerged dock with fish swimming on it, broken outside furniture, roof damage and no power for more than a week. Thornley and her family are fixing the damage by cleaning up their yard from all the fallen trees and covering their roof with a temporary tarp.

“When I first saw my dock I was in shock because I was told we were going to be okay,” Thornley said. “Even though our damage wasn’t that bad compared to other, it was still crazy to me.”