Irma Recovery: Chainsaw-Wielding Nun Chews Through Debris

MIAMI, FL — A Florida nun is doing her part to clean up the wreckage left behind by Hurricane Irma, which slammed into the Florida Keys early Sunday morning as a Category 4 storm and then carved a path of destruction up and down the peninsula. Sister Margaret Ann picked up a chainsaw outside of Archbishop Coleman F. Carroll High School in Miami and started tearing through the debris.

An off-duty Miami-Dade County police officer saw the chainsaw-armed nun and posted a picture on the department’s Facebook page, where it has collected tens of thousands of likes and shares. The police department said “these acts of kindness remind us that we are #OneCommunity” in Miami-Dade County, which has a combined system of governance.

“Thank you Sister and all of our neighbors that are working together to get through this!” the sheriff’s department said. (For more hurricane news or local news from Florida, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Miami Patch, and click here to find your local Florida Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Watch: Florida Nun With Chainsaw In Hand Cleans Up After Irma

Hurricane Irma: Get The Latest On Deaths, Power Outages, Cleanup

Sheriff's officials in neighboring counties also documented the best side of human nature.

Weakened to a tropical storm, Irma exited Florida Monday evening, leaving power lines strewn like spaghetti in neighborhoods and uprooted trees across the state. Sailboats and other watercraft were tossed around like toys, and damage to insured property in the United States and the hard-hit Caribbean is estimated at $55 billion.

On Wednesday morning, 9.5 million Floridians were stuck in the sweltering heat without power in what could be a lengthy restoration process, and floodwaters continued to rise from Irma’s torrential rains. About 110,000 people were still in shelters Wednesday morning.

Across The Country, Californian Irma, 97, Offers Support

Below, watch the nun in action:

Have you seen a random act of kindness as Florida cleans up from Hurricane Irma? Tell us about it here in the comments or email the details to paul.scicchitano@patch.com, sherri.lonon@patch.com or don.johnson@patch.com.

This report includes reporting from the Associated Press.

Photo via Miami-Dade County police