This is another common question we get from people when we tell them that we are moving to the Caribbean.

This seems a strange question coming from people in Colorado. Right this instant we are experiencing massive rains and flooding that is causing severe devastation especially to areas near the rivers. Roads are closed down, some people are stranded and some areas are shutting down municipal water service due to possible contamination. Some of our friends and former next door neighbors live(d) in one of the trailers in Riverside Park in Evans shown in this video. Their home and car have been completely damaged and are probably unsalvageable. They had to swim inside their home in shoulder deep water to just scrape together a few of their floating belongings.

This is a river about 1 mile north of our house. Thankfully we are still high and dry

While this is definitely one of the wildest weather rides we’ve had in a while, it is not isolated. Colorado has some of the most extreme climates ever. In just the last 6 months alone we have had raging wildfires, huge hail storms that demolished whole cars, sides of houses and rooves (one of which was a rental of ours), extreme heat that caused schools to close, tornados touching down with winds in excess of 50 MPH and snow blizzards with temperatures 20 to 30 degrees below 0 F! And again this is just in the last 6 months mind you!

This is the baseball field in Evans near Riverside

So it seems sort of bizarre when people from Colorado ask us if we are afraid of hurricanes in Puerto Rico. I’d say coming from Colorado we are probably more prepared for extreme, bipolar weather than most. When people ask this it is interesting that they do not see where they live as being an extreme climate sort of place. We (humans) tend to exaggerate risk when it is outside of our control, and minimize it when we are more familiar.

I am sure a hurricane would be a crazy intense thing to go through, but just like these crazy and intense things in Colorado, we would get through it. It will be tough to clean up and deal with the aftermath of these and future disasters, but life WILL go on. People will pull through as we always seem to do. We need to help each other out in times like these. We need to show our very best side. If there is any silver lining in these huge natural disasters it is at the very least, this.

This photo was taken by an aerial news reporter and shows the trailer homes floating in the flooded river

There is no sense in being afraid of future possible calamities. They are bound to happen whether you are afraid or not, so you might as well face them head on. We will continue to do our best to be prepared and avoid high risks, but life is full of disasters of one kind or another around every bend. We must be flexible and adaptable. We must be compassionate and community-oriented. We must be calm and not panic or exaggerate. We are from Colorado after all, right?! We can get through anything. So if you ask, I might remind you of this and say, no, we are definitely not afraid of hurricanes.