In the Path of a Hurricane
by Ben Hogwood

MORRISVILLE - Nick Denoia bought a condo in Florida earlier this year.
Then came the hurricanes. North Hutchinson Island, where Nick's condo is
located, was ground zero for both Frances and Jeanne.
"The devastation was just inconceivable," he said.
Nick Denoia, owner of Denoia's Dry Cleaners in Morrisville, went to
Florida with his family this September 22 to clean up the damage after
Frances. They were relatively lucky; only one window broke, so the main
issue was water inside which, as Denoia pointed out, can quickly become
an issue in Florida because of mold. After a hurricane, Floridians are
told to make two piles outside their home, one for branches and the
other for home products, such as carpets, that have been destroyed.
Residents had barely completed this process and cleanup crews were still
working when Hurricane Jeanne hit.
The entire island was evacuated and the Denoias drove up to Orlando in
retreat. "Jeanne came up behind us," said Nick, hitting the vacation
spot on Friday, September 24, and wreaking havoc for two days. The
Denoias evacuated to a hotel and were told they should be safe as long
as they stayed away from the windows. A curfew was issued forbidding
people to go outside, so when the power went out in the hotel, the
Denoias had no real food and no way to cook it even if they did. Peeking
outside every now and then, Nick saw a nightmare with rain attacking
from every possible angle.
By the end of it, there were hardly any business signs left in Orlando.
On Sunday, September 26, the Denoias left the hotel and tried to go back
to the island. On their travels, they saw what once was a mobile home
park. "The whole place was just a pile of rubble," Nick said. When they
reached the entrance to the island, it was still closed, so they had to
drive around to find another place to stay. They saw more damage of the
hurricane's aftermath: power lines down, poles snapped like twigs, parts
of roofs, pieces of housing, palm trees both snapped and whole. People
waited for an hour to get gasoline, reminding Nick of the oil embargo in
the '70s.
The Denoias eventually made it back to the island where they continued
to live off snack foods and cereal as power was still out. Power didn't
return until Sunday, October 3. The damage on the island was horrific,
said Nick. In a complex of 190 condos, only a handful were not damaged.
"It didn't seem like many places escaped," he said. Nick and his family
were relatively lucky in that the condo was not further damaged. Nick's
wife, Marie, is still in Florida cleaning up the mess.
Nick said there were many electric company vans in the state, most of
them coming from out of state to help. Both Morrisville Water & Light
and Vermont Electric Co-op have sent workers down to Florida to help.
The experience is something Nick will remember for a long time, with the
hurricane having an effect he had a hard time describing.
"The aftermath...it's hard to compare to anything. It's like a bomb hit."