Hurricane Irma

[Larstrup]

On Thursday morning I evacuated my 97-year-old mother out of her home in the Tampa Bay area. It was a decision that I never want to make again because of the ramifications that such an evacuation entails. But with all the given information at the time and her location I knew that I had to do it.

 

I won't go into many of the details but I will tell you that what I experienced on interstate I-75 North, was nothing short of a complete and total breakdown of infrastructure and human nature, which I never want to experience again. I was never worried about myself but the ramifications of running out of gas, law-enforcement officials brandishing their weapons at gas stations for crowd control and flow with no gas, thousands of cars being at exits which could only accommodate hundreds of cars looking for their needs of survival, driving in the wrong direction because they had no other option of driving and 19 hours later I delivered her to a safe home which she had have never lived in before.

 

Witnessing the total collapse of the society and infrastructure which we rely upon and take for granted every day is a horror that I have never experienced in my life and hope that I will never have to do again.

 

Cell towers for communication and navigation systems failing. Thousands of people and cars in areas that were never designed to accommodate more than 100 or so during normal driving conditions becoming intertwined in chaos panic and fear. Throw in a 97-year-old parent and you don't know what living hell is all about.

 

We have obviously learned little to nothing about mass evacuations and the support environments which allows that to happen. Or perhaps the more important reality here is that we are incapable of mass evacuations anywhere in this country without chaos and and the human element of every man for himself.

 

I give great credit to Governor Scott of Florida for everything that he did and is continuing to do for the evacuation and the safety of people out of Florida. As much as I loathe him and his policies he has done everything humanly possible to coordinate an entire state under catastrophic circumstances to evacuate, recover and re-enter from what could've been a much worse event.

 

I have aged 10 years in the last five days. And I'm still recovering from it. Soon I'll have to return her to the exact environment that we left days ago. But she is safe for the time being and that's all that ever matter to me.

[bigvalboy]

On Thursday morning I evacuated my 97-year-old mother out of her home in the Tampa Bay area. It was a decision that I never want to make again because of the ramifications that such an evacuation entails. But with all the given information at the time and her location I knew that I had to do it.

 

I won't go into many of the details but I will tell you that what I experienced on interstate I-75 North, was nothing short of a complete and total breakdown of infrastructure and human nature, which I never want to experience again. I was never worried about myself but the ramifications of running out of gas, law-enforcement officials brandishing their weapons at gas stations for crowd control and flow with no gas, thousands of cars being at exits which could only accommodate hundreds of cars looking for their needs of survival, driving in the wrong direction because they had no other option of driving and 19 hours later I delivered her to a safe home which she had have never lived in before.

 

Witnessing the total collapse of the society and infrastructure which we rely upon and take for granted every day is a horror that I have never experienced in my life and hope that I will never have to do again.

 

Cell towers for communication and navigation systems failing. Thousands of people and cars in areas that were never designed to accommodate more than 100 or so during normal driving conditions becoming intertwined in chaos panic and fear. Throw in a 97-year-old parent and you don't know what living hell is all about.

 

We have obviously learned little to nothing about mass evacuations and the support environments which allows that to happen. Or perhaps the more important reality here is that we are incapable of mass evacuations anywhere in this country without chaos and and the human element of every man for himself.

 

I give great credit to Governor Scott of Florida for everything that he did and is continuing to do for the evacuation and the safety of people out of Florida. As much as I loathe him and his policies he has done everything humanly possible to coordinate an entire state under catastrophic circumstances to evacuate, recover and re-enter from what could've been a much worse event.

 

I have aged 10 years in the last five days. And I'm still recovering from it. Soon I'll have to return her to the exact environment that we left days ago. But she is safe for the time being and that's all that ever matter to me.

 

Excellent post...Damn glad you and your mother are safe!

[whipped guy]

Yes! I have heard similar stories as posted by @Larstrup sbove. Cars abandoned by the roadside due to lack of gas and then people getting in a car with total strangers to flee the storm. A couple of friends managed to get to the panhandle of FL to stay with relatives. They dread that they will face a similar situation if there is a massive flood of people heading back home in a southerly direction!

 

Regarding our Gov. Scott no matter what your political affiliation one needs to recognize that he did as well or better than one could be expected to do given the situation and especially regarding the changing forecasts regarding the track of the storm. Many folks relocated to the West Coast only to be trapped in the new path of the storm and then attempted to flee making I 75 a parking lot. Ironically some of my neighbors were on the East Coast for an event, but returned to the relative "safety" of the West Coast and decided to ride out the storm there rather than chance getting stuck on the roads.

 

The same kudos go to many local officials as well from what I was able to determine from what I was able to monitor from the safety of my current northern position. This whole situation will be a learning experience for the nation and for Florida in particular, which given its geography as a peninsula poses a much more difficult dilemma compared to other areas where escape from disaster might offer many more options.

 

In any event, thanks to modern technology there was advance warning. I recall my parents and grandparents telling horrid stories of the Hurricane of 1938 where nobody had any clue regarding what was happening and were totally caught off guard.

[Mocha]

My 2 cents update:

 

So I left Florida last Wednesday but my immediate family stayed. They are without power since last night midnight. The eye wall passed over IN THE SAME COUNTY they live in. All day Saturday and Sunday they simply said the winds were picking up and some rain. When the eye began passing over, they said it was pure TURBULENCE and for 6 hours, it was bearing down hurricane force winds.

 

Normally I would agree that the news makes it look worse, but from what I'm being told, this was the real deal. Peoples properties were torn and mangled mile after mile, neighborhood after neighborhood. Weapons of mass destruction right around the anniversary of 9/11. Sinister.

 

Traffic was bumper to bumper with Florida tags from Miami and Orlando all the way beyond Nashville Tennessee. Hotels were sold out as well. Atlanta area had double the traffic from the evacuees and was more like driving thru Chicago.

 

I personally wanted to experience the hurricane together with family because I think they're phenomenal, but I just didn't want to go through the cease in business that would follow. And having the electric/lights off. And no hot water. And then it getting 90 degrees and a/c not working.

 

That's why whenever I go to Florida, I always feel the tension inside of me. Growing up there, you get used to it, but there's some evil down there. Lot of evil people, lot of evil trickery...just an all around evil place. If it's going to be that way, don't live by the water, because places like that get washed into the sea. "Sin City" was built in the desert for a reason.

 

I knew this was going to happen ever since that gay nightclub shooting last year that had the whole world looking at Florida like, HUH? I don't know if it was real or fake or who, what, why...but I just felt like the atmosphere would eventually respond in kind and release some wicked fury onto the state and the whole world would see it. Add the eclipse to the mix, you're talking about some premonition stuff. Of course, no one has all the answers and of course it can and does happen anywhere. But, the timing is too relative and some things do have an explanation which you just have to study and research yourself.

 

That's why it's good to be connected to your spiritual side and just be aware of different sequences of things happening. Hopefully, this storm will relinquish the state of Florida from any further attacks of Satanic vengeance, and people and positions of government will come together in peace, love and happiness. Maybe offer more services for the people who aren't fortunate enough to be driving around in BMW and Mercedes and driving 100 mph in a 55 mph.

[bigvalboy]

Aircraft carrier is rushed to the hurricane-battered Keys

 

[longtime lurker]

My 2 cents update:

 

So I left Florida last Wednesday but my immediate family stayed. They are without power since last night midnight. The eye wall passed over IN THE SAME COUNTY they live in. All day Saturday and Sunday they simply said the winds were picking up and some rain. When the eye began passing over, they said it was pure TURBULENCE and for 6 hours, it was bearing down hurricane force winds.

 

Normally I would agree that the news makes it look worse, but from what I'm being told, this was the real deal. Peoples properties were torn and mangled mile after mile, neighborhood after neighborhood. Weapons of mass destruction right around the anniversary of 9/11. Sinister.

 

Traffic was bumper to bumper with Florida tags from Miami and Orlando all the way beyond Nashville Tennessee. Hotels were sold out as well. Atlanta area had double the traffic from the evacuees and was more like driving thru Chicago.

 

I personally wanted to experience the hurricane together with family because I think they're phenomenal, but I just didn't want to go through the cease in business that would follow. And having the electric/lights off. And no hot water. And then it getting 90 degrees and a/c not working.

 

That's why whenever I go to Florida, I always feel the tension inside of me. Growing up there, you get used to it, but there's some evil down there. Lot of evil people, lot of evil trickery...just an all around evil place. If it's going to be that way, don't live by the water, because places like that get washed into the sea. "Sin City" was built in the desert for a reason.

 

I knew this was going to happen ever since that gay nightclub shooting last year that had the whole world looking at Florida like, HUH? I don't know if it was real or fake or who, what, why...but I just felt like the atmosphere would eventually respond in kind and release some wicked fury onto the state and the whole world would see it. Add the eclipse to the mix, you're talking about some premonition stuff. Of course, no one has all the answers and of course it can and does happen anywhere. But, the timing is too relative and some things do have an explanation which you just have to study and research yourself.

 

That's why it's good to be connected to your spiritual side and just be aware of different sequences of things happening. Hopefully, this storm will relinquish the state of Florida from any further attacks of Satanic vengeance, and people and positions of government will come together in peace, love and happiness. Maybe offer more services for the people who aren't fortunate enough to be driving around in BMW and Mercedes and driving 100 mph in a 55 mph.

 

... zone.

 

Might as well finish your delightful sermon.

[whipped guy]

Why do some insist on getting this thread moved to the Political Forum! This thread is to show compassion for those suffering down there and that includes quite a few friends and neighbors, some of whom I just spoke with.

 

I am not taking sides here, but cut the red and blue nonsense and save it for the appropriate forum here. Some of us come here to escape all that rancor. If that's your thing go at it in the appropriate forum and spare the rest of us having to endure such bitterness which is simply another manifestation of "dark karma".

[longtime lurker]

OK. OK. I am sorry. Please forgive me, Whipped Guy. I won't do it again. Allow me to do a little edit above. Although I don't think I got THAT political other than the red/blue joking and you misunderstood that it was only an attempt at humor. Nothing more. BTW, I was there in the storm too.

[EZEtoGRU]

We have obviously learned little to nothing about mass evacuations and the support environments which allows that to happen. Or perhaps the more important reality here is that we are incapable of mass evacuations anywhere in this country without chaos and and the human element of every man for himself.

 

Glad you and your mom got out OK in the end......traumatic as it was.

 

I think the reality on evacuations is that places like Florida and Texas simply have too many people living there now to be able to have well-organized quick evacuations......not when there are only a few days of advance notice. Just isn't going to happen. Florida, in particular, is so over-built and there are really only two sizeable highways going north out of the state. How can the state realistically evacuate millions and millions of people? It isn't possible.

 

If anything, Harvey and Irma should cause us to re-think where we are choosing to build and live in the country. The damage from Irma covers nearly the entire state of Florida. The cost to the US to recover from these storms is going to be enormous. Likely hundreds of billions of dollars. Will insurance company's keep offering property insurance in hurricane zones? All of this is going to come under review in the post storm debates.

 

I mentioned in one of these Irma threads, that I lived through Hurricane Andrew in Miami and I decided at that point.....never never again. I promised myself that once I retired, I was not going to live in a hurricane zone. Too much stress.

 

All the best to you and mom on your return trip to Florida.

[MikeBiDude]

Go Navy!

Aircraft carrier is rushed to the hurricane-battered Keys

 

[+ not2rowdy]

Aircraft carrier is rushed to the hurricane-battered Keys

 

Former Navy. I don’t really see the sense in this. Public Relations I guess. To me it’s mis-utilization of a National Strategic asset. The primary usefulness will be in the helicopters. But those same assets could also be made available on smaller ships. A much better choice for the Hurricane Irma mission would be an Amphibious Assault Ship (aka: “Helicopter Carrier”) like an LHA or LHD. Some of those also have hovercraft capability, much greater small boat capability and even more extensive medical facilities.

[BabyBoomer]

 

I knew this was going to happen ever since that gay nightclub shooting last year that had the whole world looking at Florida like, HUH? I don't know if it was real or fake or who, what, why...but I just felt like the atmosphere would eventually respond in kind and release some wicked fury onto the state and the whole world would see it. Add the eclipse to the mix, you're talking about some premonition stuff. Of course, no one has all the answers and of course it can and does happen anywhere. But, the timing is too relative and some things do have an explanation which you just have to study and research yourself.

 

 

And now you've become Jeane Dixon.

 

~Boomer~

[jjkrkwood]

And now you've become Jeane Dixon.

 

~Boomer~

 

 

It's Mocha, she's Miss Cleo...

[YoungAD]

My 2 cents update:

 

So I left Florida last Wednesday but my immediate family stayed. They are without power since last night midnight. The eye wall passed over IN THE SAME COUNTY they live in. All day Saturday and Sunday they simply said the winds were picking up and some rain. When the eye began passing over, they said it was pure TURBULENCE and for 6 hours, it was bearing down hurricane force winds.

 

Normally I would agree that the news makes it look worse, but from what I'm being told, this was the real deal. Peoples properties were torn and mangled mile after mile, neighborhood after neighborhood. Weapons of mass destruction right around the anniversary of 9/11. Sinister.

 

Traffic was bumper to bumper with Florida tags from Miami and Orlando all the way beyond Nashville Tennessee. Hotels were sold out as well. Atlanta area had double the traffic from the evacuees and was more like driving thru Chicago.

 

I personally wanted to experience the hurricane together with family because I think they're phenomenal, but I just didn't want to go through the cease in business that would follow. And having the electric/lights off. And no hot water. And then it getting 90 degrees and a/c not working.

 

That's why whenever I go to Florida, I always feel the tension inside of me. Growing up there, you get used to it, but there's some evil down there. Lot of evil people, lot of evil trickery...just an all around evil place. If it's going to be that way, don't live by the water, because places like that get washed into the sea. "Sin City" was built in the desert for a reason.

 

I knew this was going to happen ever since that gay nightclub shooting last year that had the whole world looking at Florida like, HUH? I don't know if it was real or fake or who, what, why...but I just felt like the atmosphere would eventually respond in kind and release some wicked fury onto the state and the whole world would see it. Add the eclipse to the mix, you're talking about some premonition stuff. Of course, no one has all the answers and of course it can and does happen anywhere. But, the timing is too relative and some things do have an explanation which you just have to study and research yourself.

 

That's why it's good to be connected to your spiritual side and just be aware of different sequences of things happening. Hopefully, this storm will relinquish the state of Florida from any further attacks of Satanic vengeance, and people and positions of government will come together in peace, love and happiness. Maybe offer more services for the people who aren't fortunate enough to be driving around in BMW and Mercedes and driving 100 mph in a 55 mph.

 

I am unsure which is more disturbing, your post in and of itself or that you may actually believe these things to be representative of the ways in which the world actually works.

[+ BenjaminNicholas]

It's Mocha, she's Miss Cleo...

 

http://static.snopes.com/app/uploads/2017/01/charles_manson_fb-865x452.jpg

[BigK]

On Thursday morning I evacuated my 97-year-old mother out of her home in the Tampa Bay area. It was a decision that I never want to make again because of the ramifications that such an evacuation entails. But with all the given information at the time and her location I knew that I had to do it.

 

I won't go into many of the details but I will tell you that what I experienced on interstate I-75 North, was nothing short of a complete and total breakdown of infrastructure and human nature, which I never want to experience again. I was never worried about myself but the ramifications of running out of gas, law-enforcement officials brandishing their weapons at gas stations for crowd control and flow with no gas, thousands of cars being at exits which could only accommodate hundreds of cars looking for their needs of survival, driving in the wrong direction because they had no other option of driving and 19 hours later I delivered her to a safe home which she had have never lived in before.

 

Witnessing the total collapse of the society and infrastructure which we rely upon and take for granted every day is a horror that I have never experienced in my life and hope that I will never have to do again.

 

Cell towers for communication and navigation systems failing. Thousands of people and cars in areas that were never designed to accommodate more than 100 or so during normal driving conditions becoming intertwined in chaos panic and fear. Throw in a 97-year-old parent and you don't know what living hell is all about.

 

We have obviously learned little to nothing about mass evacuations and the support environments which allows that to happen. Or perhaps the more important reality here is that we are incapable of mass evacuations anywhere in this country without chaos and and the human element of every man for himself.

 

I give great credit to Governor Scott of Florida for everything that he did and is continuing to do for the evacuation and the safety of people out of Florida. As much as I loathe him and his policies he has done everything humanly possible to coordinate an entire state under catastrophic circumstances to evacuate, recover and re-enter from what could've been a much worse event.

 

I have aged 10 years in the last five days. And I'm still recovering from it. Soon I'll have to return her to the exact environment that we left days ago. But she is safe for the time being and that's all that ever matter to me.

 

So much for all the criticism of the Houston Mayor for not evacuating Houston. Evacuations don't work. You would have to evacuate weeks before you know that the storm is going to stall for 5 days.

 

People die in evacuations.

[Mocha]

So much for all the criticism of the Houston Mayor for not evacuating Houston. Evacuations don't work. You would have to evacuate weeks before you know that the storm is going to stall for 5 days.

 

People die in evacuations.

 

That's true. Even if you do live through an evacuation, your car might die. Or at the very least, create MORE pollution and greenhouse gases and heat, thus feeding the hurricane more and making it bigger and stronger lol. So best just to stay home and hunker in like up north in snowstorms. Plus...if windows break or roof flies off, or electricity goes out...I would want to be there to protect what I can. Obviously if you live in a flood zone you should, but that's what people don't understand. Those mandatory evacs are for certain areas. They were knocking on doors in Miami beach, not all of Dade county.

 

That said, let me just say I'll take back some of what I said about Florida being evil and all. Even if it wasn't, fact is it's just a hurricane prone state regardless. It's been that way probably before anyone lived there (though theres controversy about slave ships having something to do with it...however these things happen in other oceans and even other planets e.g. Neptune/Jupiter) Some things happen for a reason, but other times it's just how things were designed. However, I will post a couple things to back up what I'm saying so it doesn't just sound like I'm crazy:

 

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sites/default/files/editorial/images/spotted/5/54918.jpg

 

And also:

 

http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/does-god-send-killer-hurricanes-and-earthquakes

[Mocha]

If anything, hurricanes bring out the good in many people...atleast.

 

http://www.tampabay.com/resources/images/dti/rendered/2017/09/spiderman091317_19989294_8col.jpg

[YoungAD]

That's true. Even if you do live through an evacuation, your car might die. Or at the very least, create MORE pollution and greenhouse gases and heat, thus feeding the hurricane more and making it bigger and stronger lol. So best just to stay home and hunker in like up north in snowstorms. Plus...if windows break or roof flies off, or electricity goes out...I would want to be there to protect what I can. Obviously if you live in a flood zone you should, but that's what people don't understand. Those mandatory evacs are for certain areas. They were knocking on doors in Miami beach, not all of Dade county.

 

That said, let me just say I'll take back some of what I said about Florida being evil and all. Even if it wasn't, fact is it's just a hurricane prone state regardless. It's been that way probably before anyone lived there (though theres controversy about slave ships having something to do with it...however these things happen in other oceans and even other planets e.g. Neptune/Jupiter) Some things happen for a reason, but other times it's just how things were designed. However, I will post a couple things to back up what I'm saying so it doesn't just sound like I'm crazy:

 

http://chronicle.augusta.com/sites/default/files/editorial/images/spotted/5/54918.jpg

 

And also:

 

http://www.bibleinfo.com/en/questions/does-god-send-killer-hurricanes-and-earthquakes

 

I would state that you have failed spectacularly at your attempt.

[trav05]

I just got my electricity back a couple of hours ago. still lots of people waiting.

[Mocha]

I just got my electricity back a couple of hours ago. still lots of people waiting.

 

I bet you're glad, but probably doesn't make up having to throw away food and possible mildew issues.

 

Relatives place south of Orlando is still without power. This is become extra dire because I had just put up a fish/reptile aquarium last month there, and the power filter isn't on, water is getting contaminated, the lights aren't on, and neither is the timer. And it's too intricate to tell them how to get it back working. Ridiculous too I'm not there to do the daily maintenance. It's going to be next weekend before I can even get back....and really wasn't planning on being back in Florida until much later. Will have to see if I can catch a flight out at some point. Many times I could leave the aquarium for weeks and no problems.

 

Just a clown of a situation. Had feeling should have stayed and just left after the storm passed so I can oversea this situation. I'm sure people who evacuated and returned home are mad as hell that power isn't on. Came back home to some bullshit.

[Good Grief]

I bet you're glad, but probably doesn't make up having to throw away food and possible mildew issues.

 

Had feeling should have stayed and just left after the storm passed so I can oversea this situation.

 

Really? Fucking, really? so I can oversea this situation.

 

What in the hell, dear God, would you have done???

 

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/880channing.gif

[kewtex]

Really? Fucking, really? so I can oversea this situation.

 

What in the hell, dear God, would you have done???

 

http://big.assets.huffingtonpost.com/880channing.gif

 

This?

 

http://www.ohgizmo.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/dreams01.jpg

[+ oldNbusted]

CalorieLab: What Are You Gonna Do When the Hurricane’s Doing You?

 

I have to say I'm very pessimistic situations like this are going to get any better. It's not just climate change I'm thinking of, it's the crazy number of people. There is just too many of us. The logistics don't work.

 

I once read that Manhattan has less that a day's worth of food on the island and it takes 10,000 trucks a day to restock. I've never been able to corroborate that but you get the idea. It's an extreme example but now picture how the population has exploded in metro areas all over the country without a thought given to how those metro areas can be managed in the event of a disaster. It just wasn't a factor in planning, if any planning happened at all.

 

What might blow the lid off will be if more than one disaster happens at the same time and most of the deaths happen after the events.

[+ FreshFluff]

Plus...if windows break or roof flies off, or electricity goes out...I would want to be there to protect what I can.

 

I've never understood this attitude. First of all, if you can't protect it in advance (e.g with sandbags or tape), how much more can you do in realtime? Second, isn't it more important to escape with your life than to preserve property?