by Pat Peterson
Published: Tue, September 15, 2009 - 3:56 pm CST
Last Updated: Tue, September 15, 2009 - 6:43 pm CST
ORANGE BEACH, Alabama - Five years ago, Hurricane Ivan destroyed much of Baldwin County's Coast and damaged parts of the Florida panhandle. The category three storm claimed 25 lives in the United States and caused more than 13 billion dollars in damage. September, 16th, 2004, is still a nightmare for thousands of Ivan's victims."There was trash all over, logs, pilings, everything all scattered around," says Orange Beach resident Joe Grimes. "It was devastating to see my house. The bottom was out from under my house and it sat down and split wide open."
"It was just like starting all over and at this age, you don't want to start all over again," says Orange Beach resident Carol Hines. "We had nothing to look at, it was a concrete slab. Everything was gone. I found one wooden bowl out in the sand."
Joe and Carol were neighbors when Ivan hit. Since then, they've rebuild one house and moved in together...an improbable, storybook romance Ivan stirred up when he came ashore. Joe calls Carol his "main squeeze."
'Life is good," says Carol. "We're just hoping for not another hurricane!"
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