We have all endured our share of weather-related issues associated with being an athletic communications professional. But, there is not much that can prepare you for a hurricane, especially one that is supposed to hit your town directly.

By now, you know about the devastation that was caused by Hurricane Florence. Highways were flooded, schools were closed, buildings and homes were destroyed or severely damaged.
As it relates to me, I was forced away from the UNCW campus for over three weeks. But, more importantly, my family had to find a place where my wife could work (she works from home remotely) because we knew power and internet availability was going to be minimal at best.

So, we packed the car and drove nearly 500 miles away to Newark, Del., where my wife’s office is located. When we left on the Tuesday before the storm was supposed to hit, we had no idea what our house would look like or when we could come home.

While my wife went to work every day, me and my dog, the great #PiperThePup, stayed at a hotel (thank goodness Red Roof Inn hotels are pet friendly for free) watching the news coverage and wondering how we could get through the day without being completely bored. Some days, I took Piper for a walk and other days, we just hung out.

Meanwhile, our student-athletes were displaced in various areas of the country since campus was evacuated ahead of the storm – no one could go back to campus until we were given the okay, which was nearly three weeks for staff and a month for students.

Sure, games were canceled or postponed and classes were missed. But, the important thing was being safe and all of us had that in mind first.

During our stay in Delaware, I was able to see two college football games and get my fill of Philly cheesesteaks. Meanwhile, back in Wilmington, my boss was able to go over to my house and give me an update on what the outside looked like since he stayed behind.

In addition, I did try to do some work and keep my mind off the fact that I wouldn’t know how bad it really was at home for nearly two weeks since the only major road in and out of Wilmington was flooded and unpassable.

The toughest part of dealing with this was the fact there was nothing I could do from so far away. I just had to be patient and wait for the chance to go home.

I wrote two personal blog entries on dealing with the storm – you can find them here and here. They give more insight into preparing for the storm and dealing with the storm’s aftermath.