In September of 2018, Hurricane Florence struck, causing severe and long-lasting damage across North and South Carolina. Confirmed as a category four hurricane, Florence brought winds as fast as 137 miles per hour. Although hurricane season officially ends Nov. 30, the effects endured by residents of the impacted areas remain.

Due to the dangerous conditions, many areas called for mandatory evacuation. Despite the orders, some families remained. Jenna D’Amico explains that, though she was attending college at the time, her family members in Emerald Isle, North Carolina stayed in the area, and were eventually “left without power and unable to leave their home for a full week.” When she was eventually able to return home, she “didn’t recognize [her] house from the outside, or [her] street that had debris everywhere.” The amount of damage in her home has led to her family being displaced for over six months. Though she herself has expressed stress while away at college due to the damage to her house and financial burden to her family, she “can’t even imagine the toll that [Florence] has taken on those still at home that have to deal with [the impacts] every day.”

On Hilton Head Island, there was not an abundance of physical damage, but the economic effects remain. Grace Shaffer, an Emerald Isle resident, confides that “the evacuation orders effectively killed the end of tourist season.” The tourists that were present towards the end of the summer were advised to evacuate. Although the order was revoked hours later, the tourists had already arranged to leave, damaging the area’s economy. The damage, however, extends farther than tourist season, Shaffer explains. “People who own timeshares or vacation homes assume there is damage so there’s no point to come [to Hilton Head Island] for a few years, much to the detriment of the island’s economy.” Because the area has a largely tourist-based economy, these effects may last for years to come.