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Hurricane Ivan Ravages Gulf Coast
Written by
Bonnie Gillespie
, Staff Writer and Photographer, RedCross.org
Friday, September 17, 2004 — GULF SHORES, Alabama – White-capped waves now crash across a vast stretch of U.S. Highway 59, once the main thoroughfare for one of Alabama’s most picturesque beach communities. But Hurricane Ivan’s unprecedented tidal surge carried the sandy shoreline almost a half mile inland on Sept. 16, leaving more than 10 feet of water standing in its wake and the entire region in disarray.
This business near Gulf Shores was completely leveled by a tornado that spawned from Ivan. |
Only hours after the eye of the deadly storm roared ashore over this small resort town east of Mobile Bay, local zookeepers combed the area, searching for rogue crocodiles, deer and llamas that escaped during the chaos.
But even as Ivan trekked northward, its destructive winds and driving rains continued to carve a trail of devastation hundreds of miles wide. From the bayous of Louisiana to the Florida panhandle, coastal communities felt the fury of Ivan’s wrath, as the Category 3 hurricane spawned dozens of tornadoes and claimed at least 18 lives.
With more than one million Gulf Coast residents without power and thousands more evacuees still unable to return home to the hardest hit areas, the American Red Cross is sheltering more than 40,000 people in almost 300 shelters throughout the affected area. More than 1,000 Red Cross volunteers from across the nation are assisting in unfolding relief efforts, utilizing 31 Red Cross Emergency Response Vehicles (ERVs) that were pre-positioned even before Ivan made landfall to deliver hot meals, water and other emergency supplies to hurricane victims.
“We need help,” said Bart Broxson, as he surveyed family’s demolished produce business in the Alabama countryside northeast of Gulf Shores. “We lost our house, our business, our farm. But we’re all alive, everyone’s ok, and that’s what’s really matters.”
Broxson, his wife Dayna and their three children sheltered at a friend’s house, away from the enormous trees that ultimately collapsed on their home of nine years as Ivan passed over. The couple speculated that only winds of tornadic-force could inflict the magnitude of destruction their property endured.
“We had the house all boarded up, and my husband really wanted to ride it out here, but I just had a feeling about this one and said ‘No,’” said Dayna Broxson. “I’ve been through a lot of these storms and have never left home for one, but praise God we did this time.”
Tornadoes spawned by the hurricane ripped trees from their roots. |
Less than 30 miles east, the bustling beach and college town of Pensacola, Fl., was pummeled by powerful Hurricane Ivan as well. One of America’s oldest cities, portions of Pensacola’s historic downtown were swamped by the same tidal surge that left boasts in the nearby harbor in a mangled heap. Leveled brick structures and stripped facades and rooftops evidenced Ivan’s merciless force in this community that in many ways felt the greatest blow from the swirling monster.
“There’s damage spread out all over town,” said Officer Jeff Summers with the Pensacola Police Department. “It had to be tornadoes that came from the hurricane that helped make it so bad and the damage so spotty. It’s really unsafe for anybody to be out right now.”
Pounding surfing with waves stretching stories high caved in large sections of roadway along Pensacola’s oceanfront, creating hazardous conditions for residents already attempting to return home. Only miles away along Interstate 10, diverted traffic inched along tree branch-laden back roads due to a massive bridge outage in the midst of the hurricane that reportedly left a tractor trailer dangling dangerously over raging waters below.
Schools and most businesses throughout the affected area remain closed, and land and cellular phone services are sporadic in the region as well. Boil water notices have been posted for the hardest hit counties in Florida.
“It seems terrible, but everything really does happen for a reason,” said Braxson. “We just have to take a step back and figure out where we’re going to go from here.”
And the Red Cross will be there to help families just like the Braxson’s.
You can help the victims of hurricanes, floods and thousands of other disasters across the country each year by making a financial gift to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund, which enables the Red Cross to provide shelter, food, counseling and other assistance to those in need. Call 1-800-HELP NOW or 1-800-257-7575 (Spanish). Contributions to the Disaster Relief Fund may be sent to your local American Red Cross chapter or to the American Red Cross, P. O. Box 37243, Washington, DC 20013. Internet users can make a secure online contribution by visiting our Online Donation Page.
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