It was a typical task for Douglas R. Clifford — as typical as bracing for a hurricane landfall will be. From a lodge room in Tallahassee, Florida, the Tampa Bay Instances photojournalist and his reporting associate — investigative reporter Zachary T. Sampson — watched the native information. From their computer systems and telephones, they monitored Hurricane Helene’s path.
“We had been planning our landfall method to south of Tallahassee as a result of we like to check the roads, analyze the landfall zone, and decide on our penetration to the coast,” Clifford stated. “That’s simply our typical workflow.”
Then Clifford received a textual content from his spouse.
“Doug, I’m scared.”
Clifford’s spouse and their three youngsters had evacuated from their residence in Palm Harbor forward of the storm, in order that they had been protected. However now, as Helene skirted the Tampa Bay space by lower than 100 miles on Sept. 26, she despatched him a picture from the digital camera that monitored their yard. And one from the within of their residence. Water was flooding their home. Although it was constructed within the Thirties, Clifford stated the home had by no means had water in it.
“All of the blood drained from my head. I ended desirous about landfall,” Clifford stated. “All I may take into consideration was getting again to my residence and my household.”
The surge got here a number of blocks inland and was nicely over eight toes. The photojournalist was taken abruptly. “I had all the boldness that my residence was not going to obtain storm surge. However because the storm continued to show that it was a leviathan and that it was defying statistics, it was exterior of the gamut for prediction — the weathermen even appeared perplexed.”
Clifford was tons of of miles from residence. He had a really trustworthy dialog with Sampson. “I informed him how I used to be feeling. I informed him, I stated, ‘My residence has water in it now.’”
Clifford and Sampson had been the landfall team for the Tampa Bay Times. Because the newspaper’s “go group one,” they’ve coated many hurricanes collectively – documented their aftermath. Clifford knew they wanted to get to the coast. That they had been deciding between a number of cities — amongst them Keaton Seaside or Steinhatchee. That had been the plan.
Sampson, Clifford stated, didn’t hesitate. “He’s most likely on the largest storm of the century and 30 miles from landfall, and Zack was in a position to pause and ponder my state of affairs, and help me.”
Sampson may inform Clifford was going by a tough second. “Initially he was saying to me, ‘I’ll have to get residence as rapidly as we will. So we’ll go cowl landfall, after which we have to get residence. I have to get residence to cope with this and handle this,’” Sampson stated. “However it was clear. I might have been the identical means in that state of affairs, and I might have wanted him to shake me free.”
They contacted the Instances, together with their editor, Rebecca Woolington. The reporter-photojournalist duo was given the directive to return.
Tampa Bay Instances editor Mark Katches, who oversees the newsroom, stated there have been actually no second ideas about it. Everybody felt Clifford needs to be again residence along with his household and deal with this case.
“And naturally, Zack was with him, and there was actually no different selection however for them each to go away. After which we made a plan to cowl the storm with out our two star hurricane reporters and photographer,” Katches stated. “I liken it to the Bucs dropping Baker Mayfield and Vita Vea — their two star gamers — earlier than the sport begins. You simply have to determine the best way to compensate for that loss. And the newsroom stepped up.”
Sampson stated he’s labored many storms with Clifford. They’ve grown shut. “And in that second, his household issues essentially the most. And I do know that the editors felt the identical means,” Sampson stated. “And so it was a troublesome determination, nevertheless it additionally was a call we had been in a position to make fairly rapidly. As a result of there was a transparent proper reply right here, which is we now have to be folks first and we have to get him residence.”
It took the reporter and photojournalist 9 hours to drive again to the Tampa Bay space. They received caught on I-10 for 4 and a half hours. They barely slept.
After they lastly made it, Sampson dropped off Clifford at residence. What he discovered was a lot worse than he had anticipated.
“I’ve coated dozens of storms — dozens of storms. And I’ve met tons of of individuals which have been immediately impacted at my threshold, and even at a considerably better quantity of harm than me. And you understand there’s a specific amount of safety with the digital camera, and once you’re indirectly affected. You sort of eat their state of affairs objectively, and also you doc that and also you do one of the best you possibly can to inform that story,” Clifford stated. “I can say this now: I don’t imagine you possibly can ever actually relate until you’ve been affected the best way I used to be affected by Hurricane Helene that evening. As a result of once I arrived residence, it was only a second of loss that I’ve not skilled earlier than.”
They misplaced furnishings, a automobile, a number of inside home equipment, a using garden mower, the central air con system. Clifford stated a number of inches of water got here inside the home, which signifies that the drywall that got here in touch with seawater must be torn out. Not solely is that salt water corrosive to electronics and digital wires, Clifford added, nevertheless it’s loaded with pesticides, gas, sewage and nitrates.
The gravity of the harm and the work in entrance of Clifford sunk in. He felt nauseous. He wanted to take a seat down.
It took him many of the day to navigate his sorrow, after which to inspire himself to take his first step, which was to take away all of the moist gadgets out of the property.
In his profession, Clifford has handled harrowing experiences. He as soon as misplaced a automobile in a hurricane and needed to rescue himself.
“I’ve had moments the place I believed, ‘Properly, I won’t make it out of this.’ However it’s a really completely different expertise when your individual atmosphere has been ravaged — if that is sensible,” he stated. “Water is the nice equalizer. It goes wherever it needs to go. You’re by no means going to cease it, and it’s a ubiquitous danger. It’s all the time there.”
Days after the storm, Katches — with the assistance of Sampson and reporter Emily L. Mahoney — launched a GoFundMe campaign for Clifford. “It’s a close-knit newsroom, it’s an prolonged household, and we wished to assist considered one of our personal who was coping with plenty of loss,” Katches stated. “And we now have a few people who’re in unhealthy circumstances as nicely, and we’re attempting to do some issues for them, too, however Doug was the toughest hit. And I believe everyone felt we wished to do one thing to assist him.”
Donations and help have poured in from colleagues, former colleagues and even sources. When Clifford spoke with Poynter late Tuesday morning, the donation whole was simply shy of its $15,000 aim. Clifford stated he doesn’t sometimes ask for assist and was astounded by what he described as an unimaginable outpouring of compassion and help. He noticed names on the fundraiser of lives he’s are available contact with all through his journalism profession.
Clifford stated he’s uninsured and doesn’t have plenty of expendable earnings or financial savings.
“I’m only a grain of sand on this nice mosaic of destruction,” he stated. “And I do know that is going to be a $100 billion storm, and my little story could be very minimal within the grand scope of the numerous and exponential property harm that some folks expertise — and even the lack of life.”
Nonetheless, he wished to make some extent to say that the help he and his household obtained has been overwhelming. It’ll cowl some essential repairs to their residence. Clifford and his spouse at the moment are centered on disassembling their home, sorting by broken private gadgets, and assessing the inundation and the way it affected the electrical work in the home.
Lower than every week after the storm, the fundraising aim for Clifford and his household had been surpassed.
