WACO, Texas — As hurricane Ian, now a tropical storm, barreled through Florida, it left behind historic flooding and destruction.
Andrea Kosar's mother, located in Bonita Springs, Florida, is still experiencing a power outage. Kosar said her mother fears rising water will impact her in her first floor apartment.
All Kosar can do is keep her phone near by as she waits for updates from her mom.
Kosar added that she has friends in Fort Myers, Florida, an area that felt the brunt of the hurricane and is almost completely flooded by now.
"One of my friends is with her family right now and thankfully they have a generator," Kosar said. "They have power for three to four days but she is thinking, 'what am I going to go home to."
When asked why her loved ones did not evacuate, Kosar responded and said, just like Texans have a certain mentality, so do Floridians about hurricanes.
Kosar grew up in Florida. She and her family are used to the hurricanes, so she understands why people stayed, but this storm became something not even Floridians expected.
Central Texans have taken action down in Florida to help people like Kosar's mom and friends.
Some linemen and electricians from Oncor are based out of the Central Texas area and they are now helping to restore power in Florida.
Central Texans have also joined the effort by volunteering for the Red Cross.
"We do have four people that were deployed, one of them is from Central Texas, and they're already there in Florida," The Regional Director for the Red Cross, Lucy Gale Walsworth, said.
If you would like to donate, Gale Walsworth asks for volunteers and blood donations. Click here to help.