I bought my first Destin condo six months before Ivan

Len Kelsey bought his first condo in Destin six months before Hurricane Ivan. What it taught him, for everyone cleaning up after Isaias.

I bought my first condo in Destin in 2004. Six months later, Hurricane Ivan made landfall near Gulf Shores, Alabama, early on Thursday, September 16, 2004. ^[1]

My building was shut down for six months after the storm.

I was a new owner, and suddenly I owned a home I could not live in. I still had the costs that come with owning it, and I had to find somewhere else to be while the building was repaired.

What it taught me

A hurricane does not end when the wind stops. For a lot of people, the hard part starts after: the calls, the paperwork, the waiting, and the bills that keep coming while life is on hold.

The second thing I learned is that nobody gets through it alone. Neighbors, the people who run the building, and the local businesses that show up to fix things are what carry a town through those months.

For everyone dealing with Isaias now

Two weeks ago, Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin as a Category 2 hurricane. ^[2] Some of you are back to normal. Some of you are where I was in 2004.

If that is you:

• Okaloosa County has an online form to report storm damage. ^[3]
• The county has been picking up storm debris in unincorporated areas since Wednesday, October 14. Debris goes at the curb, unbagged. Questions: 1-833-495-3664. ^[4]
• Where things stand today, with power, debris and events: Two weeks after Hurricane Isaias.

Be patient with each other, and be kind to the crews doing the work. I know what those six months feel like. It gets better.

— Len Kelsey