{"id":18751,"date":"2017-09-14T09:09:56","date_gmt":"2017-09-14T13:09:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/?p=18751"},"modified":"2017-09-14T11:58:40","modified_gmt":"2017-09-14T15:58:40","slug":"facing-storm-alumna-braves-irma-get-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogarchive.utc.edu\/news\/2017\/09\/facing-storm-alumna-braves-irma-get-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Facing the Storm: Alumna braves Hurricane Irma to get the story"},"content":{"rendered":"

When Lindsay Manning left Chattanooga for a news reporting job at WFTS-ABC Action News in Tampa, Fla., she was expecting a lot of hot, sunny days.<\/p>\n

All that changed when Hurricane Irma was predicted to hit the city. With less than six months\u2019 experience at her job, the UTC communication graduate did what she was trained to do: Tell the story and report the news.<\/p>\n

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Lindsay Manning gets ready to take a nap in between work shifts.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThe last time Tampa saw a major hurricane was on the outskirts 10 years ago. Everyone panicked when we heard it was coming directly at us,\u201d she said. \u201cEven veteran Floridians who laugh at hurricanes were hesitant on this one.\u201d<\/p>\n

Visiting grocery stores before the storm hit was surreal, she recalled.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou know when the forecast calls for flurries in Chattanooga and there’s nothing on the shelves? It’s like that only on a much bigger scale because the panic was not \u2018Oh no, we’re going to be without power,\u2019 the panic was like, \u2018We might die and, if we survive, we’ll be without power for weeks.\u2019 The entire state felt like it was vibrating with fear.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe whole area was in survival mode. People were fighting over bottles of water like it was Black Friday. Shelves of water, Gatorade, bread and canned goods\u2014all empty. Flashlights, batteries, duct tape\u2014all gone. There was nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t know.\u201d<\/h3>\n

Though Manning has worked as a photojournalist for nearly a decade, she has never reported during a hurricane.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll the meteorologists were saying, \u2018This is a beast. This is something we haven\u2019t seen in a long, long time.\u2019 The size of it was wider than the whole state and wind gusts were record breaking at 220 mph.<\/p>\n

\u201cI started having anxiety and asking tons of questions at work like, \u2018I’m working out in the field, but where?\u2019 and \u2018What wind speeds are too much to drive the live truck?\u2019 People kept saying, \u2018stay safe,\u2019 but I didn’t have the experience to know what that meant. I felt unprepared, inexperienced and terrified.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody wanted to say it, but we didn\u2019t know if we were going to come home. We just didn\u2019t know. Nobody knows when you go out into a storm like that,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

Going live with Irma<\/h3>\n

As the storm drew closer, Manning and the news crew headed to the Hillsborough County Emergency Operations Center. She worked for nearly three days straight, sleeping just a few hours on a concrete floor. She stayed in contact with family and friends by broadcasting live on Facebook, giving updates on her whereabouts and Irma\u2019s progression. She gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at a live news broadcast and, in a moment of levity, rescuing a turtle from the middle of the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was days of exhausting uncertainty, like living in prolonged fight or flight,\u201d she said. \u201cExperts around the world couldn’t figure out where Irma would go, who would be affected most, who to warn or how much it would damage it would cause. So you just had to be ready. That was the scariest part. You just don\u2019t know where it\u2019s going to hit until the last minute.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Irma neared Manning\u2019s location, the storm shifted toward the middle of the state, sparing the Tampa area from the worst of the damage.<\/p>\n

\u201cEveryone thought we were going to be underwater, but there was a negative storm surge,\u201d Manning said. \u201cThere were zero tornado warnings in the entire viewing area.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were really lucky.\u201d<\/p>\n

All in a day\u2019s work<\/h3>\n
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Lindsay Manning captures a billboard destroyed by Irma.<\/p><\/div>\n

For Manning, this experience strengthened her love for her profession.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would have loved to just work an eight-hour shift and go home to my family. I really wanted to be together for our first hurricane, but It’s our duty as journalists to bring information and images to the public, especially in times of disaster. News field crews accept that when we accept this job. While most are hunkering down, we will be out there.<\/p>\n

\u201cSomething like this just proves you have to be in it for your heart. Because nobody gets paid enough to go out in the middle of a hurricane. But you do get paid enough in gratitude from your viewers when you\u2019re keeping them safe,\u201d she continued. \u201cWhen the little old ladies who are alone and scared at home can watch our newscast and feel comforted, that\u2019s priceless.\u201d<\/p>\n

And, in a way, Irma helped Manning feel a little more home in Florida, too.<\/p>\n

\u201cIrma was a hazing. I feel like I’ve been through initiation,\u201d she said. \u201cAfter this, I’m officially calling myself a Floridian. And I’m prepared for the next hurricane.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Watch the video below to hear Manning talk more about her experience with Irma.<\/p>\n