UP TO

$951
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SUNDAy
OCTOBER 16, 2016 $1.25
COVERING THE ANCIENT CITY AND ST. JOHNS COUNTY SINCE 1894

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HURRICANE MATTHEW: A STORM TO REMEMBER

AFTER MATTHEW
Billed as a monster, Category 3 hurricane delivered its fury to all corners of St. Johns County

CHRISTINA.KELSO@STAUGUSTINE.COm

Max Sheppard helps to clear debris from his aunt and cousins Vilano Beach home on Oct. 9, while they rested inside. Sheppard, a
student at Florida Atlantic University, drove up from his Miami home to help when his family sent him photographs of the destruction
they found after returning from evacuation.

We are Impact still being measured as thousands

already of residents begin process of rebuilding
starting By Jake martin
to see the jake.martin@staugustine.com

impacts,
and its a A drive down the main thoroughfares of St. Augustine and
St. Johns County in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane
Matthew might not have hinted at the devastation to be found
monster.
GOV. RICK SCOTT,
just down the side streets of many neighborhoods in the days
at an Oct. 6 news following.
conference. PETER.WILLOTT@STAUGUSTINE.COm
Unaffected or relatively unscathed turned their attention to helping others. A car parked on Saragossa Street in St. Augustine sits under
homes and streets abutted pockets of dam- A public group on Facebook called Saint water as Matthews surge flooded the city on Oct. 7.
age and destruction of varying degrees. Augustine Hurricane Recovery had well
Thousands of homes and thousands over 12,000 members by Friday. The page vid in 1979 as recent uncertainties fed
of families were affected. Many more was created to link those in need with expectations for possible destruction lead-
thousands of stories are to be told, aided those who can do something about it. ing up to Matthews arrival.
by photos of high water marks, downed As the first post-Matthew weekend came When Matthew was downgraded to a
trees, piles of debris and household items to a close, it was clear relief efforts both Category 3 hurricane and sideswiped the
on curbsides, or by group shots with the official and unofficial were taking root. east coast of the state, rather than making
neighbors, complete strangers and entire Local, state and federal agencies were at landfall as a Category 4, some officials ac-
sports teams who volunteered to help different stages of their disaster response. knowledged the damage sustained but said
clean up. Without much recent history of serious it could have been worse.
People who just lost stuff counted storms in the county unless one counts
themselves among the lucky. They soon Hurricane Dora in 1964 or Hurricane Da- Please see mATTHEW/12A

EDITORIAL

We will rebuild and forever be stronger

H as it really been nine days? For those
of us with severe damage, the first
two days seemed like six.
Now theyre a blur.
Some could argue, we suppose, but
three feet of water and slick brown mud
flushing through a house may be as dif-
ficult to deal with as an outright blow-
down.
But thats just the house.
In either case, the damage to the home
becomes so much more insidious, so
heartbreaking.
As so many have learned this week,
this isnt about sticks and bricks.
This is about your grandmothers
cedar chest, or the quilt she sewed with
arthritic fingers, and the knick-knacks
you remember sitting dustless on her
shelves.
This is a family photo album. You
cringe, and maybe cry, trying to pry the
saturated pages apart with so much care
only to rip Kodachrome memories
asunder in the process.
This is looking at that doorjamb where
you marked the growth spurts of the kids
with a ruler and a No. 2 pencil. If youre
lucky the trim has been torn down and
hauled out to the street. Maybe you trace
imaginary lines with your fingernail
across moldy sheet rock a foot above
the greasy waterline on the wall.
Everything smells: the mud, the mold,
and the damp waft of wet pink insula-
mORE COVERAGE
n SPECIAL SECTION
tion. White sheetrock dust turns the INSIDE TODAY:
mud-stained tile floors tan. A pictoral look at the
Nothing is easy. Nothing goes fast. preparation, impact and
Traffic snarls on each trip to Ace Hard- aftermath of Matthew.
ware or Home Depot; maybe not really
that bad, but your nerves are frayed and
naked. And youre tired. And you realize n ALSO TODAY: Find
now how long this is going to go on, and interactive Hurricane
you wonder if it ever gets easier like a Matthew coverage on
loved one lost. staugustine.com.
And you will hear stories, so many
stories. You might stand in line at the
McDonalds and hear Hazel talking about
living in a Red Cross Shelter, or from the
young girl in line at the bank, laughing
about heating bottled water in a bor-
rowed microwave to wash her hair.
Please see STRONGER/3A

INDEX TODAyS WEATHER THEy SAID IT Copyright 2016

OBITUARIES
NATION/WORLD
SUNDAY BUSINESS
OPINION
4A
6a
7B
8-9B
81 71
HIGH LOW
40% chance of showers
The election is being rigged by
corrupt media pushing completely
false allegations and outright lies in
an effort to elect her president.
4 SECTIONS, 48 PAGES

TV LISTINGS 5D FORECAST ON PAGE 16B DONALD TRUmP. See 6A. 8 29562 00000 2