Former Kingston-area residents spared from destruction in Florida

Two former Kingston-area residents now residing in Florida say they were spared from any major property damage after Hurricane Irma tore through the Sunshine State over the weekend.

“It’s all good, we’re fine,” said Danny Orser. “Nobody around here really took any major-league damage, I don’t think. I don’t think anyone was devastated in my area.”

The former Verona, Ont. resident now lives in Kissimmee, Fla., which was not as hard hit as other areas.

“The eye of the storm is going to be over Tampa, which for us, is about 70 to 75 miles away,” Orser said during one of his many Facebook Live broadcasts to update friends and family.

Liam White, formerly of Kingston, left his Fort Lauderdale home on Friday fearing the worst, but when he returned Monday afternoon – he was pleasantly surprised.

“Lucky, honestly, best case scenario,” is how White described the damage to his home, which was left relatively unscathed. A tree fell on his car port, but there was no damage to his actual home.

“If it had kept tracking up the east coast and stayed at a Category 4, it would have been ten times worse.”

However, his boarded up home will stay that way for the foreseeable future in anticipation of another hurricane potentially making landfall in Florida.

“Until we know a bit more about Hurricane Jose. Because the way it’s looking now it’s going to turn back around towards Florida,” White said. “So, we’re just going to wait to see.”