Florida storm rocks Valley natives

Staff report

Mahoning Valley natives are among those living in Florida, weathering Hurricane Matthew.

Mike Braun was in Daytona Beach and then St. Augustine, Fla., on Friday, covering the storm for Gannett Co.

Braun was The Vindicator’s longtime design chief. He moved to Florida in 2005.

He’s not learned of any deaths or injuries, but there’s plenty of damage.

“St. Augustine is pretty much under water,” Braun said. “There’s about 6 feet of water on downtown roads and side streets.”

Despite the flooding, Braun said there was minimal structural damage from the storm’s impact.

In Daytona, he saw cosmetic damage: power lines down, awnings ripped from buildings, signs knocked down.

St. Augustine was without power early Friday evening as the storm continued to pound the coast. The St. John’s County utility department reported 64,000 homes without power and the Emergency Management Center in St. Augustine was knocked offline by the storm.

When Braun arrived Thursday in Daytona, the sun was shining, and it was a beautiful day. That changed quickly. The storm has been battering the coast almost nonstop.

Going out into the storm, it’s difficult to even stand up, Braun said.

The worst of the storm passed over Melbourne, Fla., said Rick Toman who moved from the Mahoning Valley last month.

“It wasn’t that bad,” Toman said. “We dodged a bit of a bullet here.”

Natives warned Toman and his family the power would likely go out as it has in other hurricanes. They were spared even that.

“When we were sleeping, we heard the wind gust up pretty high,” Toman said. “I’m surprised, I don’t see a whole lot of damage.”

Toman said the worst part wasn’t the storm bands, but the anticipation that something worse might be on the way.

Something worse never came for Toman and his family, and the couple eventually returned to their home in Melbourne, Fla.

Toman was thankful to get through his first major hurricane no worse for wear, but he had no delusions concerning the seriousness of the situation.

“I’ve been through worse storms, but that’s the thing with hurricanes; they’re temperamental and chaotic,” Toman said. “You can’t be sure with them. I know next time this happens I’m going to get prepared a few days earlier.”

Alexis Domico of New Middletown spent Thursday night and Friday morning nervously awaiting updates from her parents, Alex and Andrea Domico, as they rode out the storm in Port Orange, Fla., just south of Daytona Beach.

Hurricane Matthew was the Domicos’ first hurricane, and spotty cellphone coverage made it difficult for Alexis to keep in touch with her parents.

After taking a pounding from the storm, the Domicos reported back to Alexis their house was largely unaffected – though their neighborhood did lose power – with only a few toppled palm trees and a knocked over fence as evidence of the hurricane’s power.

“I think they did everything they could to prepare,” Alexis Domico said.

Nearly 90 First Energy workers from Ohio are among those traveling to Florida to help with hurricane relief, said Chris Eck, a FirstEnergy spokesman.

They’re going to Lake City, Fla., and will work for Florida Power and Light.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine released a statement Friday calling on Ohioans to be “generous” with their disaster relief efforts, but also to “exercise caution” when deciding where to donate money.

“Unfortunately there are always con artists and scammers who will try to take advantage of Ohioans’ generosity and take the donations for themselves,” DeWine said in a press release.

Donation solicitors from charities whose names are suspiciously close to well known charities, those using high pressure tactics to request an immediate donation and solicitors who are hesitant or otherwise unable to answer questions about the charity are potential scammers and should be treated with suspicion.

DeWine suggested that individuals interested in donating visit the Ohio attorney general’s website for information on charity scams and a list of reputable charities.

Individuals interested in donating to the hurricane relief effort can text MATTHEW to 90999 to make a $10 donation to the American Red Cross.

Doyle Henneman, a native of Youngstown and Howland who moved to Florida with his wife, Jeanne, in the 1980s, lives in Stuart, Fla., on the east coast, about two miles from the beach.

He, Jeanne and their daughter, Janet, were like all of their neighbors – they stayed in their home, despite being in one of the counties where evacuations were ordered.

Around 2010, Henneman bought close to $3,000 worth of corrugated aluminum shutters that cover all the windows and doors, and he installed them Thursday before the storm passed through. He also has a “hurricane house” on a concrete slab and with a concrete roof, he said.

But between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m., after the power had gone out and wind gusts of 100 miles per hour shook his home, he realized how lucky they were the storm didn’t make a direct hit on Martin County as it had been predicted.

“We dodged a bullet,” Henneman said.