Former Fresno resident speaks after hurricane Mathew rips through Florida town

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Hours after hurricane Matthew passed through, strong winds could be heard as Jared Allen-- a former Fresno area resident-- returned to his West Palm Beach apartment.

The fierce storm had sheered street signs and tossed trees in front of the pier.

"It's kind of a ghost town out here," said Allen.

After learning just how bad the storm would be, Allen drove 20 miles north to a city called Jupiter to stay with his mom. The only problem is hurricane Matthew shifted gears, turning his place of refuge into a place of fear.

"When the power went out I was like, 'oh man, this is going to be rough,'"

Allen said the shutters he put up to protect their windows kept him up all night.

"Every time I tried to fall asleep something would slam into the metal."

When the storm passed Friday morning Allen walked out to a massive downed tree near his mom's condo. Even a smaller one off in the distance was struggling to stay up during what some say is the calm after the storm.

"It didn't hit us hard, but it's scary to think that it can come back."

Reports are saying that it likely will return and if it does Allen said he will not be there for it.

"I'm not going to stick around for another one, it's just not worth it."

Allen said the power is back on at both his place and his mom's. The only thing he has to do now is wait to see if hurricane Matthew will circle back around next week. If it does he's got to put those metal shutters back up.