View Full Version : Hurricane Matthew
120 mile hour winds - yikes!
I know the hailstorm with 60 mile winds was devastating, - can't imagine double that speed!
Sandy, are you near the path?
No - just trying to wrap my mind around those kinds of wind speeds. Bad stuff!
flowerseverywhere
10-5-16, 11:10pm
I am.
We we live in central Florida and are expecting tropical strength winds. The gas stations are out of gas, most stores out of bread, water and so on. Our local Publix had a truck drop off cases of water tonight.
some people won't evacuate the coast but many have moved inland with friends and relatives.
I have a freezer full full of food and blocks of ice, our RV is in the driveway, ready to go if needed aand we have a bunch of food, charcoal for the grill, an extra propane tank and flashlights. All of my neighbors are similarly prepared. It is.a madhouse of preparations here.
I am am thankful for flood insurance. We also have everything inside and plenty of things to do if we lose power.
I am.
We we live in central Florida and are expecting tropical strength winds. The gas stations are out of gas, most stores out of bread, water and so on. Our local Publix had a truck drop off cases of water tonight.
some people won't evacuate the coast but many have moved inland with friends and relatives.
I have a freezer full full of food and blocks of ice, our RV is in the driveway, ready to go if needed aand we have a bunch of food, charcoal for the grill, an extra propane tank and flashlights. All of my neighbors are similarly prepared. It is.a madhouse of preparations here.
I am am thankful for flood insurance. We also have everything inside and plenty of things to do if we lose power.
Take care but don't try to drive in high winds or high water. I know the freak hailstorm here only lasted a few minutes, but I have dealt with weeks of snow and ice in bad conditions. I heard the grocery stores and gas stations were a madhouse. Fill every container that you have with water, including the bathtubs. Cooked food remains fresh longer than raw food too. Hope you have a handheld can opener and lots of canned goods.
I suppose looting can become a problem if you leave too - sigh.
I have been passing emergency radio traffic for this event all day for ARES, and will be up for the next day or so.
Stay safe Flowerseverywhere!
flowerseverywhere
10-6-16, 6:39am
Bae, we have a huge ham radio club and a huge emergency management team. When you live in a community with lots of retired police, firefighters and so on they know how to organize. Our fire station is about a mile away and they get lots of community support and goodies. They constantly prepare. Many people are hosting friends and relatives from the coast. We probably are over prepared, but if this does turn out to be the huge event they are forecasting emergency help needs to go to those worst effected, not us 50 miles from the coast. I never get in my head the government is going to help me.
Sandy, we have nowhere to go so won't drive. My freezer is full plastic containers full of ice. Plus several cases in the closet plus we have an RV and just sanitized the tank and filled it with 50 gallons of water. The storm is not expected to hit until tonight here, or maybe tomorrow but schools closed today, most businesses are closing at noon or six pm. They take things very seriously. Today I am going to cook some meals for the fridge. Most important I have a drip coffee maker and a Coleman stove so we can have coffee. Grill is going in the garage today and I have an extra bags of charcoal. Lots of can goods and two manual openers.
flowerseverywhere
10-6-16, 6:54am
Bae, our groups have joint training. Cert, ARES, RACES, plus we have community watch. All get a lot of community support. We have gates at our entrances. They take them all down so as not to impede emergency service plus they do not want them to blow down.
I tried to post some links as I think you would be impressed at the scope of our volunteer forces but I can't seem to do it on the IPad.
Friends parents in Haiti are ok. They are inland, but said it's worse than anything they have seen, and will likely get much worse still. They are safe in their concrete house at the hospital compound. The villagers are at much greater risk with thatched houses that will hardly keep out rain, much less heavy winds and falling trees.
Friends in Miami, FL headed over to Naples. They are fine, sipping drinks at a resort while they wait.
I suppose we're not supposed to live so close to the ocean.......where heaven can turn into hell.....
catherine
10-6-16, 12:55pm
My brother/SIL just sold their condo right on the beach in Palm Beach. Good timing!
Miss Cellane
10-6-16, 1:47pm
This is the time where I'm all "Yeah, it's not coming far enough north to really impact us!" and also, "Does it make me a bad person to be happy I'm not getting hit by a storm that is affecting millions?"
This is the time where I'm all "Yeah, it's not coming far enough north to really impact us!" and also, "Does it make me a bad person to be happy I'm not getting hit by a storm that is affecting millions?"I've learned not to take Category 4 storms for granted. In 2008 my wife and I were cruising around the gulf coast in our motorhome, ranging from the Florida Panhandle over to Louisiana. We were in New Orleans the day before Hurricane Ike was scheduled to come through the area and local officials were urging everyone to evacuate the city. We pulled up stakes about 4am on a Thursday morning and started heading towards home, taking a nice leisurely route along the Natchez Trace up to Nashville and arriving home in Cincinnati late Saturday evening.
Well I'll be damned if Ike didn't follow us all the way home, travelling over 800 miles inland. He blew through my neighborhood on Sunday afternoon at a Category 1 level, damaging our roof and uprooting a half dozen mature trees in the back yard. Luckily the trees didn't fall on anything other than pool equipment and we were without power for only about a week.
I'll never underestimate a storm that size again.
I don't think there is anyplace on the planet where you can stay away from Mother Nature's wrath.
At least with hurricanes, you know in advance and can leave - not so much with bizarre hailstorms or tornadoes.
Then the snow blizzards where employers will NOT shut down a business even when every street is closed and they fire employees who can't get to work.
Not talking hospitals or such either - those have to stay open no matter what.
Our employers used to put us up in nearby hotels when we had heavy snow--thus ensuring they had a workforce the next morning.
Miss Cellane
10-6-16, 4:00pm
I don't think there is anyplace on the planet where you can stay away from Mother Nature's wrath.
At least with hurricanes, you know in advance and can leave - not so much with bizarre hailstorms or tornadoes.
Then the snow blizzards where employers will NOT shut down a business even when every street is closed and they fire employees who can't get to work.
Not talking hospitals or such either - those have to stay open no matter what.
When I was working a retail job, they closed the store one Sunday. Not because Corporate had authorized them to, but because every single employee had called out. When New Englanders with 4 wheel drive refuse to drive five miles into work, it means no one should be driving out there.
But there were many other times when I showed up and was the only salesperson there, or there was just one other person. Didn't matter, because the customers had sense enough to stay home.
This is the time where I'm all "Yeah, it's not coming far enough north to really impact us!" and also, "Does it make me a bad person to be happy I'm not getting hit by a storm that is affecting millions?"
Nope....it doesn't make you a bad person. I, too, am relieved that this storm isn't affecting me. But........there are other things in nature that might come to us. But for now, I'm relieved too. We can feel bad for people who are affected, but relieved at the same time we're not in that situation.
Bae, our groups have joint training. Cert, ARES, RACES, plus we have community watch. All get a lot of community support.
When these sorts of events happen, it's nice to see the worldwide community pitch in to help - people outside the impacted area pass traffic/relay messages, as they still have power and good antenna systems, while the radio operators inside the area use their emergency/backup power and often expedient antenna systems to communicate out.
Good luck over there!
I'm on the west coast of Florida. All grandkids are out of school, and ds and the girls are supposed to be sleeping at our house tonight. They live in a mobile home, and even though we are not in the "cone" they still recommend evacuation for mobile home dwellers.
flowerseverywhere
10-6-16, 9:32pm
When these sorts of events happen, it's nice to see the worldwide community pitch in to help - people outside the impacted area pass traffic/relay messages, as they still have power and good antenna systems, while the radio operators inside the area use their emergency/backup power and often expedient antenna systems to communicate out.
Good luck over there!
thanks. The info has been clear and direct from the newscasters and governor about the force of this storm. It is amazing when you know an area that is forecast to have a nine foot storm surge and you can imagine what will happen. Many people in trailers refused to leave...
thanks for for helping out.
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