COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ceile Moore knows all about tornadoes. After all, she grew up in the Dayton area. But hurricanes are another story.
She and her boyfriend, PJ Lyda, who are both graduates of The Ohio State University, moved to Florida about two weeks ago.
When news of Hurricane Ian started to spread, she reached out for advice on social media.
“At first, everyone was kinda saying, 'oh, it’s not a big deal, it’s just going to be another rainy day,' that kind of thing,” she said. “But obviously in Ohio, we don’t have hurricanes, so I was a little nervous, wasn’t really sure what to do. And then, as it kept getting stronger and stronger, people started getting a little bit more worried in those Facebook groups.”
Moore and Lyda live on Merritt Island, near Cape Canaveral. While their phone alarms woke them in the middle of the night with flash flood warnings, they mostly just experienced high wind and heavy rain.
“Once I got up, we had power, our internet was working,” she said. “There was some water in the hallway, so I just kind of mopped that up, and it was fine for us luckily.”
Moore has survived her first Florida hurricane and also learned some lessons about stocking up on supplies, along with the “dirty side” of the hurricane and the so-called Waffle House Index.
Those in other parts of Florida did not fare as well.
“Fort Myers Beach is basically nonexistent now,” said Aaron Rigsby of Ohio Storm Chasers.
He and a friend headed down to Florida days ahead of the storm to prepare and plan out their strategy. Rigsby is a Marysville native who has been chasing storms for 11 years.
“It’s just been something I’ve been super passionate about, and, you know, I’m willing to put myself in these situations to get those shots and tell the story and hopefully bring some awareness too for when these disasters strike,” he said. “People see the damage and video firsthand, and maybe next time they’ll take the next storm seriously when it comes their way.”
Rigsby saw the storm make impact in Port Charlotte and then saw the aftermath in Fort Myers Beach and Naples.
“When we got down to Fort Myers Beach, it was like it was Mexico Beach 2018 all over again with Hurricane Michael,” Rigsby said. “I mean, there was just homes completely missing.”
Rigsby plans to head to a less-devastated area to refuel and regroup. Then he’ll head back to the hard-hit areas to capture more video and images to share.