Behind me you see the ten-foot tides cascading
over the seawall and the broken-masted sailboats
torn loose from their moorings.   I’m standing ankle-
deep in sea water and being buffeted
by 100 mph winds that turn street signs
and branches into life-threatening projectiles. 
Pictures taken just an hour ago at Palm Beach
Acres show trailer park homes with roofs sheared off
and hurtling through the air like guillotines.   Brad,
this is why we told everyone to evacuate.
No one who values her life should be out here.
The wind now is pelting my eyes.   I can’t
see Fred my camera man.   The water is now
thigh-high and the wind’s roar closes me in
to my own little world.   I hope you can still
hear me.   Across this bay earlier, we could
see docks breaking from their moorings and beach houses
washed out to sea.   It’s hard to make out any-
thing in this wind, but I thought I heard the screams
of drowning children.   It’s all chaos here, Brad.
Life as we know it is over.   Fred, I believe,
has been washed into the surf.   And I’m next.
I’m just on audio now, Brad.   I just wanted
you to know that I love you.   Whatever happened
between us, I forgive you.   Brad?    Brad?   Are you
still there?   I’ve lost audio.   Are you there? 
Back to you, Brad.   Joan Kim from Palm Beach.