Hurricane Michael arrived at full force last Thursday, heading straight for Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. Panama City experienced the worst of the storm with winds up to 155 miles an hour and heavy rain. Since then, the death toll has risen to 29 and major destruction of infrastructure in the Florida Panhandle, as well as cities in Southwestern GA and the Southeastern coast. Many people living in these areas experienced power outages, flooding, and no school. Although Hurricane Michael passed through Cumming with only some showers, the weather did affect families of Forsyth County and South Forsyth High School.

Mr. Dinney, the IB coordinator of SFHS, was deeply affected by the storm. His son, who is diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and is seeking help in a group home, was not able to get in touch with his family since Hurricane Michael made landfall.

“They lost power immediately after the storm hit, so they’ve been out of power since the storm”, says Mr. Dinney, “We were worried about him until we got a notice; so yes it has affected my family emotionally.”

The first night the hurricane hit, the woman in charge of the group home contacted Mr. Dinney and his family, letting him know that their son was alright. They were not allowed to contact their son directly until last Friday when they received a notice from the home. Mr. Dinney has felt anxious and said that “it’s been hard to focus”.

“I would expect the community to get together, collect supplies, and send it down to South Georgia and Panama City itself,” says Mr. Dinney.

After the hurricane hit Cumming and Forsyth County, many fundraisers and teams were created to help the survivors of Hurricane Michael and to help them get back on their feet again. In the South Forsyth High School, the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) club held a relief fundraiser and collected items such as water, non-perishable foods, batteries, paper plates, etc. According to Forsyth County News, teams were sent to South Georgia for recovery efforts. The teams consisted of Forsyth County deputies and are aiding other law enforcement officers and local residents. In addition, radio station, Alt 105.7, is hosting a “Pay 4 Play” event on October 18th, where listeners pay money to listen to the music they want to listen to. The proceeds they receive from this event will go directly to their Hurricane Michael fund.

“This is the third straight year that we’ve had bad weather and have big storms come through. I used to live in Jacksonville and lived through hurricanes, and it was scary,” says Mr.Dinney.

Meteorologists are still researching the reasons behind the series of storms that have hit the East Coast. As we experience more hurricanes, like Hurricane Michael, we can expect to see better precautionary actions from affected states and better communication within technology.