Before Hurricane Milton made landfall last Wednesday, it spawned several tornadoes across the Florida peninsula. One of them, rated as an EF3 on the Fujita scale, touched down in Fort Pierce, on the state’s Atlantic Coast. At least six people were killed across St. Lucie County, which was not under a mandatory evacuation order for Milton.
One of the hardest hit locations was Spanish Lakes Country Club Village, a community for those 55 years and older, which suffered at least four casualties and catastrophic damage to multiple homes. Spanish Lakes was one of seven neighborhoods in the area that a county spokesperson said, “suffered significant damage.”
First responders and county officials said search and rescue operations are ongoing at Spanish Lakes. Determining the final toll of casualties has been delayed since many residents live part-time in other locations.
Direct Relief CEO Thomas Tighe and staff members were on location at the community on Friday for a needs assessment and to deliver requested supplies, including dozens of hygiene kits and protective equipment to support search and rescue efforts.
“It’s so sad,” said Tighe. “It speaks to the vagaries of prediction, even with advances in modeling. Milton’s strength was a story for days ahead of time, but it’s a reminder that mother nature gets her vote,” he said.
Oceana Community Health, which is operating two mobile clinics at the Spanish Lakes community, began responding to the storm even before it hit. Tighe recalled Oceana Executive Director Dr. Youssef Motii driving over a dozen miles to personally deliver a vial of insulin to a diabetic patient in need who was concerned about power outages – the medicine must be kept cold – and a lack of availability after the storm. Motii said as many as 40% of residents may be on insulin.
Motii also volunteered to help search homes after the storm in the Spanish Lakes community. These actions serve as an example of how safety net clinics serve multiple roles before and after storms, in addition to their daily services.
“Guys like Dr. Youssef play a really important role in gap-filling, especially in the wake of Medicaid cutbacks in Florida. They’re not really seen as first responders but they are first responders and can play an outsized role since people in their communities trust them. He was calling his patient personally and sending emails to see if they were OK,” Tighe said.
Speaking with Direct Relief, Motii reported that a major concern going forward is related to community members’ mental health, both as a result of the traumatic event and the challenges of rebuilding at an advanced age.
Reflecting on his site visits throughout the state this week, Tighe said that his concerns lay with those who are most vulnerable and most likely to be overlooked, whether it’s in terms of power lines being repaired, infrastructure being repaired, or state resources being deployed in general.
“In planning for disaster responses, it’s not a bad idea to look out for the people who are most vulnerable in general,” he said. “Elderly folks, people on fixed incomes, where are they supposed to go? It will be most difficult for those people, poor people, babies, and toddlers, to be resilient and bounce back from the storm.”
Direct Relief is continuing to be in close contact with partner health organizations throughout the state of Florida, as well as state-level agencies and safety net clinic organizations, and will continue to respond to requests for aid throughout the Milton recovery process in the future.
Additional reporting contributed by Sofie Blomst.
