# Hurricane Irma.



## Whyemier (Sep 5, 2017)

*Horrendous storm*! 

One report says 180 mph winds with gusts up to 220 mph. Some spaghetti models put it right up the middle of Florida. Looking for it to go somewhere else or diminish. That being said I would not want it to strike anywhere on the east coast or Gulf Coast either. No one needs this type of Storm!

Have noticed some shelves in stores are sparse as people stock up in case. I will have to inventory supplies myself soon. Then wait to see if we have to 'dig-in' and 'hunker down'.


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## Silverbullet (Sep 5, 2017)

God be your guilding light and protector .


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## wawoodman (Sep 5, 2017)

Praise the Lord, but stock up on batteries, anyhow!


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## Whyemier (Sep 6, 2017)

*According to the forecasts Hurricane Irma will probably go up the east coast of US. Not as far from shore as we would hope, leaves GA, SC, NC and VA open for possible storm affects. I hope it goes out to sea and doesn't make landfall. Even if it just goes to the eastside of the state and over land in FL it will diminish the effects to us. The west side of the storm is the weakest side. Still would expect rain and winds though not as heavy. Things should be better for us here if this forecast is correct. But, plenty of time for changes in either direction.

The wife is out trying to get gas in the car. She's been gone for a while so I surmise long lines at the pump. Even though we may not have the problems here south Florida will/may have we have lines at some stations. She may be trying to see if there is a grocery open to find non-perishables. Or...she may be visiting a friend. I'm going to start the generator and let it run (assuming it still runs) to work out any kinks. Just in case power goes out. Then I will survey the yard for items that could become projectiles if we get the strong winds. I might start looking for containers to hold water in case needed. They say a gallon of water a day per person. So...10-12 gallons for the short term, based on prior storms we've been through. I think we have city water so it may not be a problem...unless its all pumped and not tank gravity feed.

Whyemier keeping watch.*


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## Karl_T (Sep 6, 2017)

I live part of the year in the FL keys... About 1/2 my friends down there are bugging out.

projectiles - coconuts are about the worse. they start out twenty feet in the air and weigh enough to go right through plywood over a window. of course, a stray 2X4 makes a great spear if the wind picks it up.

Water. If enough trailer homes and other light weight structures get moved in the wind enough to break the water lines, there will be no water pressure for days. five gallon buckets or even old milk jugs of water can be a life saver. fill the bathtub too.

My thoughts and prayers are out for whom ever is unfortunate enough to get hit by the main blast.


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## SSage (Sep 6, 2017)

I lived in coastal FL, SC and NC over the years too and been through many storms. I keep a go bag with a full camping set up in back pack form even in central Alabama. All ultra lite backpacking stuff, water filters, food, stove, tent, sleeping bags, battery powered fans etc. I can live fine with whats in my 80 liter back pack, make my own water from salt water if needed. I've had to leave at least three times here in Alabama for Tornadoes! When I lived in Daytona Beach, FL a few years ago I almost got flooded out with 14" of rain in 2 days. Enough to back my truck under the 5th wheel, I learned to keep the RV road ready and fueled up living on the coast. Its nice having an RV with a generator ready to roll. I don't play with the big hurricanes, over class 3 and I be rolling inland. 

I've only dealt with one Cat 5. I left about 4 days before Andrew hit Homestead, FL. Instead of fighting the north bound traffic we cut across to the Naples area and stayed a couple days on the beach till the water turned ugly before heading to Alabama for a week. Best evacuation ever! Went smooth with no traffic heading up the west coast of FL. Wasn't much left after Andrew, it flattened Homestead. Most of the houses were tooth picks, thankfully we were only renting. Couldn't really tell where the houses went, no street signs left, everything looked the same. I don't think its worth it myself if you can move out of the path a few days. Cat 5 ain't worth playing chicken with. I spent 2 weeks without power and water in the summer heat, it sucks even with a generator. I miss having a big 5th wheel for storms, but I don't travel anymore so my go bag and diesel truck with a high rise shell gets me through storms now. 

Lost the roof a couple times here in Alabama, one hurricane dropped a tree through the house and one nasty tornado tore the roof off. No matter where you live you have to deal with weather. I don't miss the blizzards at all either, I think the snow storms and severe cold were the most dangerous. Get snowed in and all is well till a roof caves in or someone gets hurt and you can't get out. I just try and prepare for the worst wherever I'm at, rather not be a burden on first responders.


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## Karl_T (Sep 6, 2017)

Just talked with a friend. Florida's  Turnpike jammed solid at about Kissimmee. Huge lines for gas at turnpike service stations.

You are right, take the  less traveled roads right now.


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## 4GSR (Sep 7, 2017)

I have a daughter and two grandkids stranded at Ft. Pierce.  They have a full tank of gas in the car.  They want to leave, but have no idea where to get gas on the road north of them.  For most, it takes at least two tank fulls of gas to get out of the state of Florida!  They need to at least get to the west side of Florida and if they can as far north as they can get.


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## Karl_T (Sep 7, 2017)

right now, no lines and problems for fuel in winter haven, lakeland area. If i were them, I'd go west on 60 from Vero Beach to stay off the turnpike. Its a good road and normally fairly empty. Then head north on the west side of the state.


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## dlane (Sep 7, 2017)

This one looks real bad for Florida and FEMA


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## FOMOGO (Sep 7, 2017)

Been wondering how my place of the coast of Puerto Rico has fared. No communications there for a while. Looks like if I ever finish up here in Wisconsin, I'll be heading down there to do repairs. Just to make things even better, there is a wild fire burning several thousand acres a few (3) miles from my Colorado home. It would be great if it would turn out to sea before it hits the coast. Cheers, Mike


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## chips&more (Sep 7, 2017)

I think I'll continue living in California’s earthquake country.


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## kvt (Sep 7, 2017)

Texas,  inland,  Very few Tornados,  Only some rain off the Hurricanes,  occasional flooding but now bad where I live,   Of course I grew up in TX panhandle tornado ally area.   Worst we saw was over 15 funnels/tornados in one night.   Even slept through one that took out shed/garage that my father built in the back yard.   He was ****** it droped it ontop of his pickup. 
AK,   a lot of snow and chances to get stuck in it.   So yea you get some weather all over the place.
Oh CAL gets earth quakes, but also a lot of wild fires.


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## Karl_T (Sep 8, 2017)

Oh BOY. The models all agree right now, its going to make landfall in the keys right where I live in the winter.  Just talked with my neighbors down there, a few will not leave. I fear for them.


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## BogusSVO (Sep 8, 2017)

Im over in Pensacola, less than 10 miles west to the bama border, We should not get much of Irma here

If your south of the Mouse House n havent got out, you are being foolish with your life
Looks like everything east is going to get hammered and hard

But what I saw driving around today, I10 west is not backed up, no signs of being out of gas or Hotel/motel rooms

Kids had a day off from school


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## juiceclone (Sep 8, 2017)

we're north of Ft Laud 10 miles inland.  this is the bad one..   going a mile away to a cement house to hunker down. no insurance..after the last hurricane, they raised the rates so much, you would have paid for house value in 3 years.
In God's hands now.


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## dlane (Sep 8, 2017)

Y'all stay safe down there, Irma looks to be a bad one


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## 4GSR (Sep 8, 2017)

Yep! My daughter and grandkids are staying. That boy she's been living with for the past 5 years don't have a lick of sense. 
I told her this morning, she and the girls need to find a shelter to go to. He told her they will be fine.  My comment back, I hope you have a boat, because you going to need one, if the house don't blow away first. His comment back is, I have a raft!
I may make the headlines next month if anything happens to my grandkids from his ignorant self!!!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk


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## dlane (Sep 9, 2017)

I Agree Ken the grand kids and daughter need to go someplace safe , let the fool stay with the raft.
Hope I don't see you in the headlines


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## Whyemier (Sep 12, 2017)

It's done, hurricane has passed. Impact on us personally was minimal, power was out for a day and a lot of small debris to clean from the yard. We cranked up the generator and even had morning coffee and kept the fridges operating. Hooked up the neighbor to the generator so they could do the same.

Went out yesterday to check on friends, some trees down, only saw one wire (power, cable, phone???) down in road. Traffic lights were out so care was called for since not all understand lights become four way stops when not working. The friends were OK so went home. 

Long lines at the one gas station that had gas. None of the stores seemed to be open, since few had power it was understandable. That's the thing...just a few blocks over some neighborhoods had power. Most didn't tho'.

Me and mine are good and I'm very thankful for that. All not "normal" yet but getting there. Some folks hit harder will take longer. 

It could have been overwhelmingly (long compound word?) worse.


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## BogusSVO (Sep 12, 2017)

Whyemier.. Glad to hear you got off easy!

Up around the corner, we did not get diddly squat.


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## GA Gyro (Sep 12, 2017)

Up here in the burbs of Atlanta...

Lots of tree limbs down, some trees toppled (wet ground, the root ball came up).
Result is power lines down... lots of folks without electricity.

Thankfully, I am fine!  

Been taking my generator (on trailer) to some friends houses and giving them 90 minutes of power... to get their fridge cold.

We got off easy, compared to many!


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## SSage (Sep 14, 2017)

Just two days of solid rain here in NE Alabama, not much wind. Just a few tree limbs blown around here and there. 

Seems like I pull it out a generator every three months or so to keep the food cold. I was out of power for a week once here, that got old quick since we only had a noisy cheapo generator.

Convinced us to get a "quiet" one. We actually downsized to a Honda eu3000 generator, its fairly low noise and powers our 2 fridges a freezer a couple fans the television and computer easily. So its big enough for temp needs. Surprisingly it stays on eco mode most of the time. Good little generator. Had a couple cheap and loud generators before and I hated those things especially with the windows open and the fuel burn was much more. I can run the Honda eu3000 24/7 if I wanted and sleep with it running in the back yard.

We switched out the electric stove for propane stove and added a propane heater too. Its not so bad when we loose power for days now.

Loosing your home is a life changer, I can only imagine the pain. Never been flooded out, but we have lost a couple roofs. Took us over 6 months to get the insurance and contractors done with and gone. It was so bad here you couldn't hire a roofer or a carpenter crew. Had to fire one thief contractor, he took the money and then disappeared for days.  Came back with excuses, ended up hiring his people direct and finished it up enough to get the furniture back in. He wasn't paying the employees. I hope the States prosecute the thieving con artists for a change. He took it to court and lost, never recouped the money he stole. Be-careful who you hire, best to wait for a company with a great reputation.


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