But for many, re-building will be far easier said than done.
Case in point riverside residents on Lake Indepndence's Tibruce street. Our News team responded to a call from residents today and when we got there we met two mothers and their children who had their lives completely upended by Hurricane Lisa.
Cherisse Halsall was gathering storm stories this morning in one of the hardest hit neighbourhoods. Here is that story.
I'm standing at the end of Tibruce street just between two river side dwellings that really took the brunt of the storm.
Each of them had just two occupants the first a single mother and her autistic son and the second a mother and daughter who had to weather the storm under their bed after their roof was blown clean off.
And this morning we had to wade through riverside much to get to the half gone house that Shelly Zaragoza and her son Jamir still call home. She told us how she whether the storm.
Shelly Zaragoza, Single Mother, Victim of Hurricane
"When the wind started picking up I couldn't believe that I saw my roof top flying, I said what's going on here? because the wind was coming from back on right, maybe if it was coming somewhere like this, maybe my house. Would have had a little saving or gratitude, right but because the wind was coming back on everything just got destroyed."
And it was the whistling of that terrifying wind that finally forced Shelly and her son out.
Cherisse Halsall
"What was the scariest moment during the storm?"
Shelly Zaragoza, Single Mother, Victim of Hurricane
"Well the scariest. Moment was because I was trying to find refuge for him and then I told myself like what am I going to do? What am I going to do because I am walking down the street and trying to find. A taxi, mobilization to try to secure him."
Cherisse Halsall
"And this is at the height of the storm?"
Shelly Zaragoza, Single Mother, Victim of Hurricane
"Yeah this is the height of the storm, so I'm trying to secure him right. I don't know if my neighbors or anybody is going to look out because I live here, I don't pay mind to anybody. I just go to work and come home."
Neighbor to both families
"They time this house here blew and knock my mom's cut my mom's back glass way at the top there that came bang, broke up the back glass up there, the coconut tree fell and broke up that pipe over there and then, uff, it's crazy, it's crazy."
Now with hindsight we asked her if she would have made a different decision about going to a shelter.
Shelly Zaragoza, Single Mother, Victim of Hurricane
"Yes, I would have went to the shelter because they were pushing the issue and I am like oh my god but my son he is a little autistic right he won't sit down, right and that will make a lot of people annoyed because of. His disability so I try to keep him close because he would have irritated people while they try to sleep right so I am like ah thanks to them, my neighbors they said come across and that's how I'm able to control my autistic son but he's autistic, he don't keep still or nothing. He can't be around a vicinity that's full of people because then it will make the problem worse. So, me having a disabilities child makes it worse for myself right. Everybody said do this do this but if maybe a man or a man figure in my life maybe things would have been different but it's just me and my son so I don't know."
And next door, this young woman's house was completely washed away.
Elisha Usher, Victim of Hurricane
"This is my little house right here and as you can see the walls are there and the flooring is there. I don't know where the roof is, the roof is gone but I managed to find my mom's roof which is in front of the yard. The neighbor says he will help us do a little thing today but I can't find my roof and just piece of old. Boards, lone pieces of boards."
That forced Elisha to find shelter with her mother but little could either of them know that they were in for the scariest night of their lives.
Neighbor to both families
"You know how much people we help last night like that lady underneath the bed there we thought she was dead because we were hollering and she didn't come out, she came out this morning. We were out in the weather whole night, whole ah yesterday you know so the water reached to here, way up there the water reached."
Edna Young, Victim of Hurricane
"I was inside cooking, my neighbor told me I could come over but I didn't go so when. I was cooking I said I would go over now because the storm was coming and then when I opened the door the storm blew off my roof so I ran under my bed me and my daughter."
Elisha Usher, Victim of Hurricane
"Miss we could have gone to a shelter but my mom didn't want to go we could have gone to the neighbor but we were cooking, before we went and then the roof flew off so we just got under the bed because we didn't want to come outside everything was flying up."
Cherisse Halsall
"What was the fear you were feeling at this point in time?"
Elisha Usher, Victim of Hurricane
"I was afraid to die that the zinc would cut you. We would just want some help with our home and our bed and dry stuff we just want to feel dry and home back. We want back our house our bathroom flew away everything is gone."
And after what they've been through we wondered if they were thinking of leaving the riverside for good.
Edna Young, Victim of Hurricane
"No I don't have anywhere else to go so I have to stay until I get help."
Her daughter would like to leave but like her mom just can't see that as a possibility
Elisha Usher, Victim of Hurricane
"Yes I do think about that but we, like where she said we don't have anywhere to go. So we have to stay here and try to manage."
If you are able to render any assistance to either of these families you can reach out to Shelly Zaragoza at 628-2659
and
Elisha Usher at 626-4318.
