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Hurricane Ian

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  • Hurricane Ian


    Anybody wanting a quick read on the size of the storm ... my south Georgia homestead was put under a TS warning two hours ago with Ian over land nearing Orlando, 250 miles away.

    For comparison, Wilma was the most powerful storm I encountered in Florida and it topped out with sustained winds just over 100 mph as it roared past on something like the track Ian is taking, but a lot faster. Ian topped out at 150 mph, or, in terms of energy more than twice as powerful, as energy increases as the square of the speed.

    Wilma in its quick pass wiped out every highway sign within 50 miles of its center and put us on generator power for more than a week. Ian's more on the scale of Andrew, before my time in Florida, but according to the old-timers, tore a path of destruction leaving busted houses in its wake, leaving people scrounging when their food ran out weeks later.

    I've got people in Ft. Myers, where a shark was spotted swimming down a city street today.

    Thoughts and prayers.

  • #2
    I lived in Jacksonville when Dora hit in 64. Small hurricane compared to some of the others, but we passed through the eye. A young child at the time, but left a lot of memories.

    I'm always still in trouble again

    "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
    "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
    "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

    Comment


    • #3
      I have family in the Tampa bay area. Haven't heard anything from them.

      Comment


      • #4
        Originally posted by Sparko View Post
        I have family in the Tampa bay area. Haven't heard anything from them.
        Using my mad hurricane tracking skills, looks like a good chunk of Tampa lost power which is the likeliest reason you haven't heard from them. But they're on the wet side of landfall, so while rain is higher, storm surge is minimal. Unless they're on the coast I wouldn't be more than "concerned."

        In other news, @tampaelectric on twitter is reporting the arrival of power crews from as far away as Texas to help in the restoration. I remember watching the lines of trucks heading down into the Keys after Irma. The whole country sends them in response to these emergencies.

        I lost a car to Irma, and my insurance company sent crews down from around the country, too, setting up a tent city in a storage yard to take care of claims like mine.

        The point being, help is on the way.

        Comment


        • #5
          Originally posted by Juvenal View Post

          Using my mad hurricane tracking skills, looks like a good chunk of Tampa lost power which is the likeliest reason you haven't heard from them. But they're on the wet side of landfall, so while rain is higher, storm surge is minimal. Unless they're on the coast I wouldn't be more than "concerned."

          In other news, @tampaelectric on twitter is reporting the arrival of power crews from as far away as Texas to help in the restoration. I remember watching the lines of trucks heading down into the Keys after Irma. The whole country sends them in response to these emergencies.

          I lost a car to Irma, and my insurance company sent crews down from around the country, too, setting up a tent city in a storage yard to take care of claims like mine.

          The point being, help is on the way.
          On the bright side I heard that lumber prices have finally dropped back down so the rebuilding won't be as costly.

          I'm always still in trouble again

          "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
          "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
          "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

          Comment


          • #6
            Originally posted by Juvenal View Post

            Using my mad hurricane tracking skills, looks like a good chunk of Tampa lost power which is the likeliest reason you haven't heard from them. But they're on the wet side of landfall, so while rain is higher, storm surge is minimal. Unless they're on the coast I wouldn't be more than "concerned."

            In other news, @tampaelectric on twitter is reporting the arrival of power crews from as far away as Texas to help in the restoration. I remember watching the lines of trucks heading down into the Keys after Irma. The whole country sends them in response to these emergencies.

            I lost a car to Irma, and my insurance company sent crews down from around the country, too, setting up a tent city in a storage yard to take care of claims like mine.

            The point being, help is on the way.
            Thanks.

            I don't think I could live in Florida or any other Hurricane prone place. Even though big ones are a bit rare, it seems inevitable that you will suffer through at least one or two of them and lose everything.

            Comment


            • #7
              For reasons, I'm following news reporting out of Ft. Myers pretty closely today. City is wiped. The causeway bridge to Sanibel Island has failed. Power's out for the whole county. One of the local TV stations, WINK news, is off the air, a double-whammy of flooded studios and drowned generators. FOX13 out of Tampa Bay has crews there with Satellite trucks, which might be slightly reassuring to Sparko's peeps, but a little less so for mine.

              I'm encouraged that they got the truck in from outside the city, though. Between wreckage and flooding, that can take a while sometimes. One news shot of a downed palm tree says a lot to hurricane people. Palm trees are tough. It takes Cat 4 or Cat 5 winds to knock them down. Storm surge has receded, but there's flooding throughout downtown still.

              Classes in Miami are no longer suspended so I'll be meeting with my 3:30 pm class while distracted following the storm's progress toward me and the storm's wake in Ft. Myers. We shut down Tuesday afternoon thru Wednesday.

              Comment


              • #8
                My brother lives in Brevard County, near Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic side, so they avoided the worst of it.

                I'm always still in trouble again

                "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                Comment


                • #9
                  Originally posted by Sparko View Post
                  Thanks.

                  I don't think I could live in Florida or any other Hurricane prone place. Even though big ones are a bit rare, it seems inevitable that you will suffer through at least one or two of them and lose everything.
                  What do you want, good times or good stories?

                  Building codes have been beefed up a lot in hurricane country. Key West is pretty much built out of reinforced concrete now. But the Conch Republic has always been crazy. I saw news shots of families, with kids, playing in the surf behind a breakwater as Ian was passing by. On the other hand, Ft. Myers, on the coast, has doubled in population in the last ten years. I like the beach as much as anyone, but most cars today will get you from five miles inland to the beach just as fast as walking a dozen blocks. The ocean at your doorstep is just not worth it.

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Originally posted by Juvenal View Post

                    What do you want, good times or good stories?

                    Building codes have been beefed up a lot in hurricane country. Key West is pretty much built out of reinforced concrete now. But the Conch Republic has always been crazy. I saw news shots of families, with kids, playing in the surf behind a breakwater as Ian was passing by. On the other hand, Ft. Myers, on the coast, has doubled in population in the last ten years. I like the beach as much as anyone, but most cars today will get you from five miles inland to the beach just as fast as walking a dozen blocks. The ocean at your doorstep is just not worth it.
                    When my brother lived up here every Spring and Summer my SiL would go down to Florida for the weekend nearly a dozen times (nearly every other weekend).

                    Now they have "beach access" property and I asked my brother how often she goes to the beach.

                    About twice a year.

                    I'm always still in trouble again

                    "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                    "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                    "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
                      My brother lives in Brevard County, near Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic side, so they avoided the worst of it.
                      I think I heard it is heading toward you by the end of the week.

                      Comment


                      • #12
                        Originally posted by rogue06 View Post
                        My brother lives in Brevard County, near Cape Canaveral on the Atlantic side, so they avoided the worst of it.
                        He's got Ian on his front doorstep, then. The center is currently about 15 minutes from running directly over the Kennedy Space Center.

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Originally posted by Juvenal View Post

                          He's got Ian on his front doorstep, then. The center is currently about 15 minutes from running directly over the Kennedy Space Center.
                          That's what I saw on the map. Looks like it is following Charley's course.

                          I'm always still in trouble again

                          "You're by far the worst poster on TWeb" and "TWeb's biggest liar" --starlight (the guy who says Stalin was a right-winger)
                          "Overall I would rate the withdrawal from Afghanistan as by far the best thing Biden's done" --Starlight
                          "Of course, human life begins at fertilization that’s not the argument." --Tassman

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            After Katrina came thru Florida, we were flooded out, isolated, without power and water for weeks.

                            The gas stations were prepared, that is, they had generators, but because the forecast track said we were going to be missed, they hadn't gassed them up. And when the power went, they couldn't. So nobody could move. I had gas in my motorcycle, and could siphon more from the pickup, so I used it to scout once I could get to the main road, US 1. Couldn't get far at first because of downed power lines, but finally, I was able to detour around the worst of it and find a road headed north. Twenty miles up I find power and a public library.

                            That's when i learned Katrina had also hit New Orleans and let Deb know I was safe. She sent a care package. It included oranges. To Florida. Because Deb.

                            All that's to say, after a major hurricane, it's entirely normal for people to be cut off and out of communication. Asking around with my students, I've heard that some of them have been able to contact their relatives in Ft. Myers, but only through extraordinary means. Hertz Arena has communication, if you can get there, but that's no easy trek.

                            I still haven't heard from my niece.

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Originally posted by Juvenal View Post
                              I still haven't heard from my niece.
                              She's safe.

                              And out of Ft. Myers. Story looks pretty complicated, but bottomline, as of 1 a.m. this morning, she's out of the disaster zone with kids in tow and a solid roof and walls around her. I'm not looking for details until she's rested and fed. Knowing she's safe is good enough for me.

                              Comment

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