- February 12, 2025
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ln Ormond-by-the-Sea, the road in partially washed away in a couple of places and traffic was diverted around it on Oct. 8.. Photo by Wayne Grant
As Hurricane Matthew approached, and the forecast grew dire with a possible Category 3 or even 4 hugging the coast, many people in the city decided to not ride it out and left for an unplanned visit with relatives, or a stay at a motel or shelter.
Joanne Zimmermann, who lives on an oak-lined street on the mainland, decided to go to a shelter early Thursday afternoon.
"If one of these trees break thruough your roof ... " she said, her voice trailing off.
But on the beachside, Lizz, who didn't want to give her name, stayed in her condo with a friend, directly facing the ocean across State Road A1A.
"We're idiots," she said, laughing. "I love storms."
She said the waves pounded the dunes thoughout the storm, and came across the highway near the end. Down the highway a short distance from her condo, one lane of A1A was washed out and traffic was being diverted around it.
"You wouldn't believe how dark it was," she said. "The waves were so huge and the water was spraying. It was beautiful."
Officials say if the storm had not veered east, it could have caused devastation in structures along the coast.
Meanwhile, Zimmermann was very complimentary about the staff at David C. Hinson Sr. Middle School, which served as a shelter.
"I think they handled it amazingly," she said.
Ralph Lymburner also waited out the storm there, and he also spoke highly of the school administrators, police and others who staffed the shelter.
"There was not sour person on any job in that place," he said. "Everyone was nice. The cops were great."
Zimmermann added that, "the two big heros were the custodians."
The custodians kept working through the storm and at one point had to fix toilets that overflowed. Zimmermann said she thanked a custodian for emptying the trash, and he said that was the first time he had been thanked for emtying a trash can in 30 years.
There was also a nurse on duty.
When Zimmermann settled in with the bedding she brought, she noticed that there was a large mural of a hurricane on the wall.
"I thought, 'Did they decorate just for us?'"
Then she realized, the nickname of the school is the "Hurricanes," and the "storm decor" was not done for the Hurricane Matthew.
There were other mottos on wall, including "tropical storm warning," and "eye of the storm."
She said she kept looking at the eye of the big hurricane painted on the wall all night.
People had to bring their own snacks and bedding to sleep on. Lymburner slept on an air mattress and felt quit comfortable.
"It was the best sleep I've had in 20 years," he said.
He said he stayed in a shelter in California years ago during wildfires and the experience was not as nice.
They had power throughout the event, thanks to generators, and they were served three meals along with hot coffee.
There were a few bumps in the night; however, as a result of a large number of people spending the night in one large room.
One man started talking angrily over a cell phone with an insurance agent. A woman was "yelling and screaming" because she couldn't leave the shelter and come back. Some late arrivals were chatting even though it was after the 10 p.m. "quiet time."
"The police were good at calming people down," Zimmermann said.
Zimmermann said she woke up during the night "freezing cold," but she saw that others were not cold. She talked to a Beach Patrol officer who was on duty, and he gave her his jacket. She slept in it the rest of the night.
