TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - About 60 students from the island of St. Maarten are working on their education in the Capital City.
Hurricane Irma devastated Tallahassee's sister city, worrying these students about what's happened to their home.
Maleek Mantle is in his second year at Tallahassee Community College, and he's been keeping a close eye on what's happening back home.
Mantle said his family is safe, and there wasn't much damage to their home. However, there are parts of the island that are completely destroyed.
The last time there's been this much damage to St. Maarten, Mantle said, was in 1995 with Hurricane Luis. Fortunately, his dad has hurricane shutters for the house, so that was spared from major damage.
But Mantle said there was massive flooding by the coast and buildings were starting to collapse. Mantle has been keeping in touch with about 20 TCC students from St. Maarten, saying it's been tough being away from home.
"It's been a blessing to know that we are able to communicate with them so shortly after the hurricane," said Mantle. "I know most of them were just anxious to speak with their loved ones after such a period of absolute silence. While everyone else is feeling like, we're just happy our families are safe and sound -- and that we can talk to them throughout the day."
The Mayor's Office announced it's partnering with the Tallahassee-St. Maarten Foundation to collect supplies for the island.
There are more than 20 places you can donate. You can find the full list of sites here.
You can also donate to a fundraising site for the island here.
