Shecoria Smith was hunkered down with her mother as the wind and rain pounded her city when a call came making her realize that tragedy from the hurricane had hit close to home. Her friend’s mother and sibling were killed by a tree falling on their house.  In this essay, Shecoria shares his personal experience in comforting a friend and the questions it raised for her about how to make each other safe in the face of hurricanes.

Broadcast from the Working Narratives studio, Speak Your Piece brings you the opinions of your coastal neighbors on today's pressing regional issues.