Nine days after the storm wreaked havoc along the coast, the 42-year-old country crooner’s mother LeClaire returned with friends to salvage what she could from her home in the hard-hit Mexico Beach area.
Little of the building withstood the winds of the hurricane and as LeClaire, taking photos, overlooked her debris-covered yard and other obliterated homes the mother of the “Most People Are Good” singer became too overwhelmed, breaking down in tears.
Scott Olson/Getty
The music legend’s mom later invited a photographer inside her home as she tried to find any of her possessions which had survived Michael’s fury.
Paintings and artwork were stripped from the walls, cabinets were left flung open and piles of damaged furniture crowded the hallways making it nearly impossible to walk through.
As LeClaire sifted through what was left she made a heartbreaking discovery. On the floor, laid a shattered frame of her son’s 2009 hit “Rain is a Good Thing”— Luke’sfirst number one hiton the USBillboardHot Country Songs chart.
On the day Hurricane Michael hit land, Luke asked his followers on Twitter to keep his family and the residents of Florida in their prayers.
“Hey everyone. Pray for my people. So many dear people I know are being affected. My mother and so many friends live in Mexico beach. And now it’s bearing down on Albany and Leesburg.”
Luke did not respond to PEOPLE’s request to comment further.
Mexico Beach Mayor Al CatheytoldABC News that 289 people — including 10 children — decided to remain in the city despite evacuation orders as the state prepared for the devastating storm. Both Cathey and a city clerk told the site that 46 of those who remained were still missing on Oct 14.
“If we lose only one life, to me that’s going to be a miracle,” Catheytoldthe Associated Press, noting that he was hopeful about the fates of the missing.
Nancy Kruh
The city was “wiped out” after the storm made landfallpacking 155 mph winds.
The death toll has now risen to 36,according to theWeather Channel as of this past weekend.
source: people.com
