As hotels filled up or became too expensive, two retired first responders opened their home to friends displaced by flooding in Florida, joining a community effort to help neighbors through prolonged power outages.
Here's what to know
A lack of electricity compounded the flooding problems in Vitalia, a Port St. Lucie community on Florida's Treasure Coast, according to WPBF.
Flooding had affected Justine Kennedy, a retired first responder, and her husband, too, but they continued checking that their friends were safe.
"We're in contact with our friends in the other end that don't have power and are running low on food," Kennedy said. "They're talking about how long it's going to take to drain the water, restore the power, and it's making us very nervous for our friends."
More background
For some Vitalia households, the wait for electricity continued even after the rain eased.
Unaffordable hotel rates and dwindling room availability left residents with fewer places to seek shelter, Kennedy explained.
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Without a generator or electricity during the flooding, Dee Gargiulo and her husband were among the friends who needed Kennedy's help.
What's being done?
Neighbors received help from Kennedy's husband to recharge their phones and keep their generators running, WPBF reported.
Gargiulo and her husband also found a place to stay in the home Kennedy shares with her husband.
"I cannot stop talking about how thankful I am that they're here for us," Gargiulo emphasized.
Across Vitalia, residents took local action through the help available to them: sharing generator power and making room for friends who needed shelter.
"What's getting us through this week is to be thankful for what we have, which are great friends, a good community, a wonderful fire department," Gargiulo said.
Where can I learn more?
These stories cover more examples of emergency shelters, volunteer training, flood displacement, evacuation bags, and hurricane preparation across Florida.
• Florida's Flagler County opened a $10 million hurricane shelter with room for 500 evacuees.
• The Red Cross and Jefferson County offered free shelter training as hurricane season peaked.
• In Deerfield Beach, families facing three floods in six years expected yearlong displacement from their homes.
• Florida evacuees said a realistic evacuation bag looked more like weekend luggage than survival gear.
• In Florida, Hurricane Isaias preparation paid off, but tea candles and fancy radios fell short.
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