I tried to imagine what it would be like to endure a Category 5 hurricane generating 185 mph sustained winds, dumping 3 feet of rain, and pushing a wall of seawater over 20 feet tall across the island, submerging all but a few small areas of high ground, incessantly pounding everything in its path to shreds—and even moving large cement block homes hundreds of feet off their foundations. Most trees were uprooted or snapped off; those that remained were barren, leafless skeletons.