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Gary Mormino says that “nature bats last” and this week, in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene in Gulfport, that could not be more true.

Twenty-five percent of the town where I live is homeless. The little city by the sea that, more than 20 years ago offered me safe harbor when my world flipped upside down is now upside down itself.

We were lucky in that no one died. Barrier islands were not that lucky. North Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas were nowhere near that lucky.

Here’s what lucky looks like after Hurricane Helene in Gulfport.

One family we know lives in the zone ordered to evacuate and they didn’t. He’s not a short man and he had water up to his chest. They are running out of time in their Airbnb but can’t go home; it’s been a scramble to find a place to live.

Our other friends have five totes of stuff they salvaged; everything else was a total loss. They’re doing the bare minimum to fix the house and sell it.

Some friends on the barrier islands are taking the insurance money and selling the lot. Where will they go? They don’t know yet.

Other friends are working like hell to get their restaurant open, but they also lost so much in their home. They’re living in an apartment and trying to figure out what to fix first.

The stories like this don’t end. It’s devastating.

The storm didn’t hit us here in Tampa Bay; we had *only* storm surge, and it’s the most devastating thing to hit our area in 100 years, easily.  Hurricane Helene was no Hurricane of 1928, not in Gulfport or in the Tampa Bay area. But it doesn’t need to be for it to set someone’s world on its side.

The first charity to show up wasn’t the Salvation Army or Red Cross; it was World Central Kitchen.

They’ve been pumping out meals for people and there’s no end to the need. In Gulfport they’re sponsoring a food truck, Shawarma King, and Ahmad and his brother have served thousands of meals to Gulfportians. Gulfportians take care of each other as best we can, but those meals have been a godsend for so many. If you want to donate somewhere, donate to them. Chef José is an angel, as far as I’m concerned.