Blog Brigade

On a Saturday afternoon, I was snapping pictures of our dog Molly surrounded by moving boxes and paper, joking about how I wasn’t sure what day of the week it was. We were in full move-in mode. That weekend, I had finally unpacked my suitcase for the last time this summer.

Cassie

On Sunday, the hubby and I strolled down Front Street in Wilmington, North Carolina, and found a pub to watch the Patriots game. The woman working behind the counter asked us if we had decided which direction we would travel to evacuate. In the whirlwind of unpacking and settling into our new home, we’d heard nothing about Hurricane Florence heading straight for us.

On Monday, we planned to stay.

By Tuesday evening, I was in the shower crying, not because I was scared to evacuate and leave my husband behind to care for his Marines, but because I was furious that I had to get the suitcases out again. Deciding what to take wasn’t hard. I packed the dogs, a few boxes of pictures I couldn’t replace and the one box of memories that I’d be crushed to live without. I was gone within the hour.

What I returned to after being tucked away at my mother-in-law’s house in Northern Virginia, glued to the Weather Channel and local news outlets, can only be described as heartbreaking chaos. I caravanned home with a friend who was returning to her hometown of Morehead City. As we got closer to the coast and neared the outskirts of New Bern, remnants of the storm revealed our region unraveled. Fallen trees that had been sawed to clear the roadways, standing water in the ditches, debris, damaged crops and billboards that had been violently rolled up like rugs on the tops of their frames. When we crossed over the bridge and passed through New Bern, we discovered a war zone. Our war zone.

The street lights were still out in the small town of Havelock. Business owners were just beginning to unboard their businesses and sweep up debris. I lost cell service shortly after my friend and I parted ways about an hour from my house. Electrical crews roamed the roads. Lines circled corners at the sparsely open gas stations, and trees – giant Carolina pines – littered the landscape, fallen and broken like matchsticks everywhere I looked.

On the main road leading through the many small seaside towns headed toward Camp Lejeune, soaking wet carpet, ruined furniture, and piles of drywall that had been removed from homes and businesses devastated by the storm surge littered the roadways. When I got to the base, at first glance, things seemed “fine” until I drove through our neighborhood to find trees through houses, debris everywhere and more matchstick pines that were no match for the howling wind and rain. We were very lucky to have sustained minimal damage. But in the coming days, I learned just how the area, in general, had faired.

The battle for contractors, insurance adjusters and containing mold was just beginning. Friends had trees through roofs, collapsed ceilings from the onslaught of driving rain and flooded houses. Now, a few weeks into the recovery effort, we have all learned more than we ever cared to know about what to do in the aftermath of a natural disaster.

1. Take preparation and evacuation orders seriously. I did not want to evacuate, but I did. And I’m glad. Know that if your service member is considered essential personnel, they may not be able to leave with you. Before I left, I went to the store for extra food and propane for our camping stove, ensured clean drinking water was on hand, and bought a hefty supply of batteries. In our case, it took several days for power to be restored to local businesses, let alone our home, and it took much longer for grocery stores to carry perishables. I brought perishables back with me when power was restored. Don’t get caught unprepared and know that it will take time for your area to return to “normal.”
2. Document, document, document. Before you leave, take pictures and video of your home before the storm, inside and out. After the storm, do the same. Inspect your house from top to bottom. Look at your roof. Look in your closets. Look in your attic or basement. Leave no corner or your home or belongings unchecked. If you rent your home, notify your landlord of damage. If you live on an installation, notify housing immediately. Follow up regularly. In the chaos of a disaster, even government agencies can be overwhelmed by the sheer volume of reports. Things can and do slip through the cracks. Be your own advocate but be as patient as possible while ensuring your housing authority is aware of the damage.
3. Call your insurance company. Whether you are a homeowner, or you carry renter’s insurance, call your insurance agency. Depending on your carrier, your policy may cover some of your evacuation expenses and may reimburse for food spoilage, even if your home is not damaged.
4. Follow local social media outlets. During a storm, local media outlets can be like a lifeline to the outside world. They will provide information about resource distribution centers, road closures, school closures, and daily updates on the impacts to critical services such as water and power.
5. Call for reimbursements. Once services have been restored, such as cable and internet, check with your service provider regarding rebates during the storm. Often, companies will reimburse customers for outage time during a natural disaster. Again, be diligent and keep an eye on your bills. You may need to call more than once (like me) to ensure your account is properly credited.
6. Be cautious of those who come to “help.” Your community will have an influx of relief workers and volunteers who legitimately want to help. These people are saints and deserve hugs and kindness and thank you’s all around. But major disasters can also bring companies trying to take advantage of the vulnerable by overcharging for cleanup and repairs, or by taking payment and disappearing. It happens. Check the Better Business Bureau and report unsavory individuals to your local government, who typically keeps an ongoing list of these organizations. Be aware of your surroundings. Report suspicious activity. Lock your home if you must relocate. Again, be your own advocate.
7. Be part of your community by giving back. Our community is strong, motivated and patient. We are a community of givers and unsung heroes, like the crew of Marines who moved furniture out of a house with a tree through it, or the friends who wiped everything down to save things from molding. Strangers have climbed on roofs to secure tarps in the pouring rain. Neighbors have helped pull out soaking wet insulation or have given supplies to people they’ve never met. Countless people opened their homes to families who lost everything. We are a community of Florence Warriors. Do not be afraid to help a neighbor pick up branches or clean up debris. If you are making a supply run to mitigate your own mold problem, offer to pick up supplies for someone else. If you hear of a distribution center, tell someone. Give. Give time. Give kindness. Give patience. And know that together, as a community, you will thrive in the rebuilding of your community.

When I learned that my baby’s due date would fall during my husband’s deployment, I knew that the birth would be challenging. We spent months deciding where I should give birth and how to get the most support from family and friends while he was away. After contacting a doula and a friend to be there with me in the hospital and inviting my mom to stay with our other young children, I felt as prepared as one can possibly be for a deployment baby.

Written by: Lizann

But one thing we didn’t plan for was a natural disaster. One week before my due date, we learned that there was a Category 3 Hurricane heading straight for our coastal North Carolina town. Although evacuations were optional, many local families either evacuated inland or prepared to spend the days home with their service member, sheltering in place. For me, as a pregnant mom with a deployed spouse, neither of those options were possible. I couldn’t evacuate, because driving inland around my due date could mean me going into labor while stuck in hours of traffic. But staying put with young children in a home that might lose power for several days seemed equally dangerous.

Luckily, with support from my family, I was able to find the help and resources that we needed to get through this very high-stress time. I am not the only military spouse who has been in this situation. Natural disasters like hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes and forest fires can strike any time, including during deployments. Even when the service member is home, the military base may call them up for emergency response teams, which means they are unable to stay with their families. Every year, many military families are faced with the difficult choice to evacuate themselves or to shelter in place without their service member spouse.

I ended up giving birth to my son in the base hospital just as Hurricane Irene hit North Carolina. It was a terrifying experience, especially since my service member was overseas. But my consolation was in our preparations. I was confident that my other children would be okay, since I had left them with my mom, a generator and lots of additional food and supplies. I was able to communicate with my husband through the American Red Cross. I wasn’t alone in the hospital because I had previously arranged for a doula through Operation Special Delivery. And because I had let the unit Family Readiness group know about my situation, I was pleasantly surprised to receive a teddy bear and small flower bouquet in the hospital recovery room. If you find yourself in that difficult situation, know that you aren’t alone! Here are some steps to get you through a challenging natural disaster.

1. Make an emergency plan. Some natural disasters, like hurricanes, give you several days of advanced notice so you can prepare. Others, such as earthquakes and forest fires, happen without warning. When you move to a new area, take the time to learn about natural disasters that can happen in your area and how locals prepare for them. Discuss various options with your spouse, so that you can agree on how to react and what to do with your children and pets during different types of disaster scenarios. You should also stock up on basic emergency supplies, like bottled water, flashlights and food (MRE’s work well for this) so that you won’t have to rush to the store when a disaster is announced. Use FEMA.gov or Ready.gov to make your preparation checklists.
2. Know your evacuation options. Often, military families are stationed far from their families and support systems. An evacuation may mean driving to an unknown town to shelter in a hotel. The other option is to join locals at a public place like a school gymnasium. Military bases often provide temporary emergency shelters with generated electricity, but you should expect to pack your own bedding and food for these locations, and some may not allow pets. Listen to local news and officials about where to go and when to evacuate, and follow the evacuation preparations in this article. In my case, all pregnant women past 38 weeks were encouraged to shelter at the base hospital, in case they went into labor. Although the hospital and base were officially closed, the medical personnel on the delivery floor sheltered at the hospital to assist the handful of women who gave birth during the storm. My children were not allowed to join me at the hospital, so I had to prepare my house and arrange for my mom to take care of them while I went to deliver my baby.
3. Know your local resources. There are numerous resources available to military families, before and after natural disasters. You can use the American Red Cross to convey an emergency message to your service member. My doctor helped me do this once I was admitted for delivery, so my Marine could go to the Communication tent and get in touch with me during delivery. Military OneSource provides free non-medical counseling which you can use before or after an emergency to work out your options, pursue different resources and find the support you need. Talking to someone else can help relieve your stress and help you think more clearly during an emergency. Finally, stay in touch with your military unit or base to learn about specific support organizations in your area, or research the organizations listed here.
4. Save money for emergencies. You never know how much you will need for a natural disaster, but you should always keep an emergency fund in a savings account. You may need this for gas, plane tickets, or to pay for a hotel. If you suffer from spoiled food or a mandatory evacuation, insurance may help reimburse the costs, but it can take a while to receive the check. Because I was concerned about my mom being stuck at my house with two toddlers and no electricity for several days, we decided it was important to invest in a generator and fuel. Although it was a big purchase, it was worth it because it gave us both peace of mind when preparing for the storm.
5. Get support. Call in your local support squad and let them know if you need extra help handling a disaster with your spouse away. Perhaps you can team up with other parents to share childcare and storm prep work. Or you can have a friend pick up emergency supplies at the store for you. Make sure you are in communication with the military chain of command, even if you do not live near the base. During an emergency, the Family Readiness personnel (FRG, FRO, or Ombudsman) may try to reach out and contact families to see who needs additional support. Talk to your service member about getting onto the email list or phone contact list for the unit, so you won’t be left out.

Giving birth during a natural disaster was a stressful experience I would not wish on anyone. By using your resources and planning ahead, you can reduce your stress and handle the experience, even without your service member.