Hurricane Irma

As some of you know (by my flacoastie name) I live in North Central Florida 60 miles inland from Daytona and 80 miles North of Orlando. The whole state is about to be impacted by Irma so please keep us in your prayers. I have boarded up my windows, gassed up the cars and will be bringing in everything that is outside. We will then wait it out and hope for the best.

Daniel and his family will also be impacted by Irma. Hopefully the next several days will see both families come through with no significant problems.

There are many more members of these Forums from Florida as well. Believe me when I say that the entire country has you in our thoughts and prayers. Please heed the warnings and stay safe.

The biggest problem is the lack of gas to evacuate if you want to. When you live on a peninsula and the storm is going straight up it from south to north the whole state is in the hurricane zone. Even if you left early the question is where do you go when the storm is heading into Georgia and beyond.

All our hotels in Ocala/Gainesville are filled to capacity from folks from south Florida and even in Jacksonville the hotels are filled up. We just decided to ride it out since there is no place to go and no gas to even get there. Cars are running out of gas because the majority of gas stations are out of fuel and they are being abandoned on the side of the road.

I'm surprised that there has not been more response to this post from the Florida collectors, but, I guess they are all busy getting ready for Irma.

For anyone interested, I spoke very briefly to Rich this morning and he and Amy are fine. They lost a few tree limbs but also lost power and may not get it back for a few days. Any other updates on Florida members out there?

I spoke with Sharon Puls (Rip's widow) and she and daughter came through fine.

Sounds like Daniel is probably getting really dumped on rain wise.

Just received a note from Rich that all are safe, but still no power. Hoping for tomorrow.

Susan and I are fine. The new roof made it too. Power out only 12 hours.
As far as the lighthouses, I had someone send a picture of Alligator Reef lighthouse. Of course the one I worry about is Sand Key. It is already in bad shape, not sure how much more it can take without repairs.

Today I heard from Grace Moore Hewett who lives in Houston. The senior facility where she resides came through fine and didn't lose power at all. She was very impressed with the staff, who came to work the Friday the storm hit prepared to stay for the duration. They ended up going home the next Friday. Sounds like a very dedicated group of people!

I am fine. Just got electricity on yesterday afternoon. Five days with no electricity. Ruff with no a/c . house temp up to 95 during the day. I have portable generator but only took care of refrigerator , freezer, fans and lights.

Last day someone donated me a window A/C and that was nice. I bought 30 gallons of gas for generator before it hit and went thru all of that and had to buy an other 30 gall. Use 10 gallons a day. We are all back to normal now, No wind damage or flood damage.

Rain gauge showed 12" of rain in 12 hours. We had a Category I here in my area. I believe it was a Category II when it hit Rich. All of Florida was Hit from a Category I to IV.

I am tucked in behind Jennings national forest and up on a hill 120 ft. above see level so flooding is not a problem. In Florida I am considered as living on a mountain.

I appreciate everybody's concern. My family in Pa didn't even try to call me to see how we were. I guess after 32 years in Florida they are just mummified about worrying for us with Hurricanes.

So glad that you and family have come through the hurricane safely. Generator and those 60 gallons of gas sound like you made a good investment!

Thanks Dave.

I made a correction on my post. I said no flooding, I should have said no Flood damage. I had some standing water in the low spots of my property for several days.

I have review what we went through with Irma and will make adjustments in my preparing for the next one. Will have a Window A/C for next one. How did people survive in Florida before the invention of the A/C?

Its so different on the Forum without Rich. I hope he gets his power back on soon.

Had brief conversation with Rich earlier today. He finally has power back and will be along later to share his experiences.

Seven days (minus 2 hours) without electricity. We lost power at 6:51 PM on Sunday Sept. 10 and finally got it back at 5:00 PM Sunday Sept. 17th. The weather after Irma passed was hot (in the 90's) and with no electricity the temperature in our house was in the high 80's. It was truly miserable but we were lucky with only 3 limbs down and nothing hitting our house. Others were not as lucky as us.

Our neighbor across the street had a huge oak tree come right through his house but no one was hurt. They had to move out for anywhere from 4-6 months as repairs are made.

I'm back for now but who can predict what Maria is now going to do. I'm not a picky person and will be willing to share the rest of the hurricane season with others.

Rich
Glad you came out okay. The long term forecast so far has Maria heading north of Florida. But being a week away that forecast doesn't mean much.

Good to hear that Rich, Daniel and others have weathered the storm. We here at Alligator Gables in Weeki Wachee did too. We benefited from Irma's swerve to the east (unfortunately, closer to central Florida) so our winds were on the weaker west side of the storm.

Minimal cleanup in the yard, no damage to house, cars, the dogs or us.

I hope the weather forecasters are as accurate with Maria's path as they were with Irma's. If they are, all of Florida will be on the weaker west side. That will be a good thing.

Rick

Good to hear that you and your family also came through the storm without major incidents.

So far this has been a really wicked hurricane season for those who have been affected. Sounds like Jose and Maria will impact the northeast, but mainly with wind and lots of rain. I really feel sorry for those in the Caribbean as they are just getting clobbered over and over.

Dealing with Jose now. Just a lamb compared to Irma. A bit of rain off and on and some light winds, our winter Nor'easters pack a bigger punch. The biggest issue we're facing with this storm is the beach erosion. Looks like it's going to hang around for a few days, playing cat-and-mouse, in and out. Not good for the beaches and sand dunes of the Outer Cape.

Hunker down and pop some popcorn and have a beer.