(Tampa) In the middle of the flooded road, a woman cries, alone on the median. When the hurricane Milton was hitting Tampa, Sharon Hopkins tried Wednesday evening to find shelter with a friend. She almost lost her skin there.
“There was no one on the road. It was raining so hard, the traffic lights were flashing. I was alone, the hurricane was there…”
Sharon Hopkins’ voice chokes and again the woman cries. She is visibly in shock.
Wednesday evening, scared, she decided to find shelter with a friend.
“I’ve lived here my whole life and I’ve never seen the wind and water come so quickly,” says the Town ‘n’Country resident.
She was trapped in her car. The water was rising, she said, without her being able to do anything about it. Had it not been for a good Samaritan passing by with his truck, she believes she would no longer be alive.
“He got me out of there. »
“His name is Roy, and I will be grateful to him for the rest of my life. He comes from Cuba, his family lives there. He took me to his house, let me take a shower and gave me dry clothes,” says Mme Hopkins.
This is the second time in as many weeks that Sharon Hopkins’ home has flooded. At the end of September, his house was flooded by the hurricane Helene.
PHOTO MARTIN TREMBLAY, THE PRESS
Sharon Hopkins
“I’ve spent my life here, and I’ve never seen anything like this. When they tell you to go, go,” she says.
As of Thursday morning, many roads in the Tampa area are inaccessible, parts of the city are flooded and power is still missing. Like many local residents, Sharon Hopkins cannot return to her home.
This is also the watchword of the Florida authorities: “stay where you are, let the emergency services do their job”.
On the road leading to the coast, many motorists who respected evacuation orders nevertheless tried to access their homes. They must turn back.
Because the sun shining on Tampa this Thursday is deceptive: the hurricane Milton has done considerable damage and will leave people, like Sharon Hopkins, forever scarred.