As Hurricane Irma barrels through the Caribbean and toward the U.S. coast, Florida residents are frantically preparing to brace themselves for the worst hurricane to hit them in decades.
“I can guarantee you that I don’t know anybody in Florida who’s ever experienced what’s about to hit South Florida,” says FEMA administrator Brock Long.
Anticipating ferocious winds up to 150 miles per hour and “life-threatening inundation,” panic runs rampant through the Florida Keys up through Central Florida like never before. State officials have warned residents not to underestimate Irma, a tropical storm that Gov. Rick Scott claims will be “way bigger than Andrew”—the Category 5 that ravaged the state back in 1992.
But amidst the chaos, like we saw with Harvey, the pending natural disaster is already bringing humanity a little closer together.
In a viral Facebook post, a bystander captured the heartwarming story of a devastated woman in Lowe’s who got the most unexpected blessing from a total stranger:
“THIS IS CENTRAL FLORIDA:
Pam Brekke’s father is on oxygen. She ran into Lowe’s and we watched her breakdown in tears when she realized she had just missed the last generator. A total stranger, Ramon Santiago, saw her too. He walked up and insisted she take his.
This was her reaction.
Writing this through tears and with a heart full of pride for my community.” ❤️
#LoveWhatMatters