UPDATED: 7:01 p.m.
A former Galesburg resident can’t exactly evacuate like other residents do when there’s a hurricane knocking on your front door.
Dawn Miller, unlike when Hurricane Irma hit in 2017 in Florida, is now working in the New Orleans area at an undisclosed hospital, where the eye of Hurricane Francine will get perilously close to.
Miller tells Galesburg’s Evening News on WGIL there’s one big thing she’s learned from being an almost hurricane veteran now.
“Ida certainly left a lot (of damage) behind,” said Miller. “We actually, at that point, didn’t have a home generator. We were without power for…just about a week.”
Hurricane Ida made landfall in 2021 as a Category 4 storm, the second costliest in U.S. history in terms of damage.
Miller tells Galesburg’s Evening News on WGIL getting to work during Ida was a bit hard.
“There’s a 24 mile bridge that goes across Lake Pontchartrain,” Miller said. “That was still closed because of no power, and on the other side of the bridge, no power. I had to go out and around, which added quite a bit (of time and mileage). — but, still, devastation. It had a lot of damage.”
Miller says Francine made landfall Wednesday afternoon as a Category 2 storm, a little stronger than anticipated. Miller says she’s glad it won’t be as strong compared to Ida.
And as for how she’ll deal with this one, Miller is at work, and says she may just go take a nap.
Hear more from Dawn Miller Wednesday at 5:10pm on Galesburg’s Evening News on WGIL, or after that in a podcast.
