Chad Reese – Class of 1988

Tyrone Class of 1988 graduate Chad Reese has been living in Florida for many years and is no stranger to hurricanes. After taking a direct hit from Hurricane Irma in 2017, Reese is thankful that his property sustained relatively little damage from Hurricane Ian.

Reese resides about 35 to 40 miles south of the eye of Hurricane Ian and experienced category 1 hurricane effects where he lived. The damage to his home and property was limited to the loss of some landscape shrubs and plants and tears in the screen of his Lanai cage.

“Back in 2017, Naples took a direct hit from Hurricane Irma. For that hurricane, I had winds over my house above 130 mph,” said Reese. “The wind was so strong that it shifted numerous clay roof tiles out of place as well as cracked roof tile mortar in many locations…thankfully no roof leaks. My biggest property damage was almost all of my lanai cage screens were destroyed, my AC unit and pool filter pump electronics were ruined due to power surges before and after the power went out for 7 days.”

For Hurricane Irma, Reese and his family were evacuated from his home and left the state. Reese explained that once a hurricane reaches a category 3 or above, that is nothing to mess around with.

“The biggest concern one must have when a major hurricane hits is the storm surge potential. Wind and rain are one thing, but gushing water and waves is a game changer and one that is almost impossible to hold back,” said Reese.

Since Reese was on the outside fringe of Ian, he did not experience the major impact of the storm.

“What affected me the most was knowing my fellow citizens just 35 miles north of my home suffered major major devastation. It almost feels like having storm guilt, where you are thankful that you were spared and are 100% okay, but feel guilty that others weren’t near as lucky and are in desperate need,” said Reese.

After growing up in Tyrone, Reese explained how major snow or ice storms in central Pennsylvania are nothing compared to a hurricane.

“If you lose power it may be just for a day. It is easy to shovel snow out of the way…very rarely do you suffer property damage from a major snowstorm,” said Reese.

The hurricane season in Florida is a five-month long time period where the threat of hurricanes is a very real concept for Florida residents. Residents plan for this time period in advance as much as possible by protecting their property and stacking up essential supplies such as water and nonperishable foods.

Several national, state and local relief efforts have been put into place to help Florida residents who were vastly impacted by Hurricane Ian. Reese explained how nonprofit and church organizations also helped several families by providing them with any assistance they were in need of.

“We have personally donated money, goods, as well as labor/time to help those highest impacted from Ian…just last weekend we helped to serve hot meals, clothing, food items, toiletries, and bottled water to a community,” said Reese.

Since over a thousand miles physically separate Tyrone from Florida, helping those who are affected may be a challenge. Reese suggested a few ways how people can help those who were impacted by the hurricane. One can get in touch with organizations over the phone or just by going online if they want to help in any way.

“There are many church and nonprofit entities where one can donate…also a major way is via FloridaDisasterFund.org where all donations received get distributed out to those many disaster relief organizations and needs. Prayer is always a strong resource as well,” said Reese.