Hurricane Lessions 2017

Hurricane Lessions 2017

-Behold Irma from the ISS!

Hey there! Can you believe the 2017 hurricane season is finally in the rearview mirror? Phew, what a ride! Thankfully, I’ve been pretty lucky.

Learning from 2016

Last year, Hurricane Matthew caught me off guard. It was a Category 4-5 storm, and I found myself scrambling to get storm shutters up. Lesson learned: shutters go up five days out, no exceptions.

The decision to stay or flee? Well, that took some mental gymnastics. Native Floridians insisted on fleeing from anything above a Category 3, but the reality wasn’t that simple. Long story short, I stayed put and lucked out.

This time around, I’ve got a plan:

  • Shutters go up pronto, five days out.
  • Decide to stay or flee by the end of day 5, based on strength and track projections.
  • No questions asked, flee all Category 5 storms.
  • Hit the road by noon when the storm is four days out.
  • Get at least a state and a half away from the coast.

Meet Hurricane Irma

Fast forward to this year, Hurricane Irma, the beast from the west. I saw her brewing in Africa a week before she became a tropical depression. Not taking any chances, I prepped like a pro:

  • Shutters up.
  • Yard secured.
  • Emergency water containers filled.
  • Tubs filled.
  • Delicate items protected.
  • Car prepped.
  • Essentials packed and ready.

Off we went, heading north, joined by a sea of brake lights. Gas was still available, but hotel rooms weren’t—Georgia and South Carolina were booked solid. Luckily, we had friends in the Carolinas. Crisis averted!

Homecoming

Irma spared us the worst but hit the Carolinas as a Category 1 storm. After it passed, roads were a mess, and it took days to get back home. Not everything went smoothly; a little fender bender on the way back, but we made it.

Returning home, I expected the worst for our place, but it turned out to be better than feared:

  • Flooded streets but no house damage.
  • Landscaping obliterated.
  • Lots of debris.
  • Utilities off for only a couple of days.

Stuff is just stuff, right? Before fleeing, I thought we had so much valuable treasure, but turns out, it all fits into a box or two. Time to reevaluate the worth of our belongings!

Lessons Learned

Stuff is Just Stuff

Before fleeing, I thought I had a lot more valuable stuff. That it is hard to reduce it to a couple of boxes. And figured my pardner would have even a harder time doing the same.

Not so! I got away with just a half a box. She packed one box and a suitcase. So much for all our treasure! I now wonder why I spent so much time, energy and effort moving all that stuff, 5 times around the country, in the last 10 years. For this next move, I’ll have a better plan. 🙂

For Sale

Home, after 2 hurricanes, I’d had enough of the subtropics. Time to plant a For Sale sign in the front yard I thought. And apparently I’m not the only one that had that thought. For Sale signs have sprung up, with a couple of them on every block.

But upon reflection, I like living here. And the risk of getting killed by a hurricane isn’t any different than risks in other areas from fires, flood, earthquakes, tornadoes, hail, blizzards, etc.

When gramps rear ended my car, that was the real risk. And it more risky than the hurricane. We all face it every day, every time we drive. And probably with, at best, just a passing thought of the risk as we fasten our seatbelt.

Sell the car and get a donkey? Nah, they bite and will kick you in the head! 🙂

Fatalities

A little more than a dozen people have died as a result of the two hurricanes in this area. They survived the hurricanes, but died as a result of carbon monoxide poisoning, electrocution, or unattended medical emergency.

Tragically, 90% of those deaths were the results of stupidity. And there’s simply no excuse, as the media constantly warns about the danger of running emergency generators inside.

Fortunately not all stupidity is fatal. But some is certainly worth remembering Just before Irma hit, a young woman was filmed as she brought 2 open faced, 5 gallon Home Depot buckets designed for mixing paint, into a gas station. She

  • filled the buckets with gas
  • covered the open tops with plastic food wrap
  • placed them inside the car with her car seated children
  • drove away
  • and apparently survived!

The Best

Through 2 hurricanes, I’ve only experienced the best with other hurricane affected people. They care, share, are concerned, and watch out for each other, whether neighbors or not. A real surprise for me in Florida!

I personally know of only one instance of attempted theft in the hurricane’s aftermath. A couple of yahoo’s didn’t get or understand the stuff memo. They were caught while attempting to break into a liquor store. The authorities made short work of that. And the culprits were excoriated by the press.

Wonder how long it will take to get back to normal? 🙂

I’ve Learned

  • hurricanes are fickle
  • they can strip, break, uproot and trash an entire lot of large, virgin growth timber better than a bulldozer
  • and leave a bed of lilies 50′ away from that lot of trees, untouched
  • large pine tree trunks can be bent 6′ above ground level, parallel to the ground without breaking
  • standing water takes 2+ months to drain away
  • it’s worth propping up small to medium size uprooted trees
  • save the props, they can be used again next year Enough for now.

Sending you whimsical thoughts and hurricane tales, D 🌴🌊