Hurricane Charley

Reporting in from Wilmington, NC, where we were on the east side of the storm
and the wind blew differently than other hurricanes we have had here. My power
has been off since Saturday afternoon and just got it back about 45 minutes
ago. Lots of tree limbs down throughout the neighborhood but no structural
damage to homes in the immediate area. Our road flooded yesterday so deep that
one of the neighborhood children was out in a canoe paddling up and down the
street. Flooded again today during a torrential rain so the Storm Water people
came out and put barricades up on the street.

Friday morning at 4:15 AM a tornado blew through a neighborhood about 15 miles
north of here and killed 3 people, destroyed 17 homes, 25 have major damage and
34 have minor damage. Not nearly so drastic as southwestern Florida but still
very disturbing that something of this magnitude happened so close and affected
so many people. I believe that 25+ persons were taken to local hospitals and
several are in critical condition. Mother Nature will have her way and we
humans have to be thankful when we are spared what has happened to so many
others.

Eleanor the Elder

I believe Gary was saying that hotels/motels should have generators. He
wasn't saying every homeowner should.

One thing that is disturbing is how the warnings were given way in
advance for the area that was hit but the media latched on to the
concept of Tampa being the center of the storm track and ignored
everything else. Since that is where the media focused, that is where
the storm was taken most seriously. If everyone in the original warning
area took precautions whether they were in the "center" of the warning
or not, they would have had plenty of time.

Lucille wrote:
I beg to differ with you Gary. Most Floridians I know do prepare for a
hurricane. And this particular hurricane didn't come close to being on
track and the major damage was in an area that had only a couple of hours
warning; hardly enough to evacuate or get out of its way. Remember too
that few if any Florida homes have basements so where are people supposed to
go to get out of the way of a tornado or a hurricane?

I don't know very much about generators, but I've been told that they are
usually powered by gas. Where might you suggest many Florida homeowners,
with either a very small house with just a little land around it or a
manufactured home with no garage and almost unused land put said generator
and the gas to power it in a storm? I personally can't imagine having a gas
tank in my garage so how would it work for me???

--
Brenda
"Nothing...I got nothing for sale."

Sorry but I really don't agree with you that the people had plenty of time.
Even if they had been warned in a timely fashion, where were they supposed
to go. Florida is a very narrow peninsula and unless they were told they
must evacuate, and/or they were assured they would be the hardest hit, it
isn't an easy task to pack up and go when you don't have either the funds to
try and get a hotel/motel, or family or friends at a far enough distance to
be safe. And the shelters, which didn't hold up anyway, won't take pets.
Would you leave your cat or dog or bird to fend for themselves?? I doubt
that I would. Also, there hasn't been a storm like this in that area for
the last 40 years so I suppose right or wrong people get out of the habit of
listening.

I'm also not sure which weather people you listened to. Here in Florida
most of the reports that came directly from the National Weather Service
seemed to think the storm would hit Tampa and they suggested the evacuation
there. There were constant updates across our screens no matter what we
might have been watching on TV and for me most of the ones I paid attention
to were not from regular reporters, but rather from execs at the weather
service.

As for Gary's remarks, I know that where I live there are a lot of small,
old, mom & pop motels. I doubt that they could afford to have a generator
large enough to be of use. I think some of the newer, bigger ones might be
able to do so, and probably could afford to do so, but the little guys, I
doubt it.

Just my opinion.

Lucille



"Rhiannon" wrote in message
...
I believe Gary was saying that hotels/motels should have generators. He
wasn't saying every homeowner should.

One thing that is disturbing is how the warnings were given way in
advance for the area that was hit but the media latched on to the
concept of Tampa being the center of the storm track and ignored
everything else. Since that is where the media focused, that is where
the storm was taken most seriously. If everyone in the original warning
area took precautions whether they were in the "center" of the warning
or not, they would have had plenty of time.

Lucille wrote:
I beg to differ with you Gary. Most Floridians I know do prepare for a
hurricane. And this particular hurricane didn't come close to being on
track and the major damage was in an area that had only a couple of
hours
warning; hardly enough to evacuate or get out of its way. Remember too
that few if any Florida homes have basements so where are people
supposed to
go to get out of the way of a tornado or a hurricane?

I don't know very much about generators, but I've been told that they
are
usually powered by gas. Where might you suggest many Florida
homeowners,
with either a very small house with just a little land around it or a
manufactured home with no garage and almost unused land put said
generator
and the gas to power it in a storm? I personally can't imagine having a
gas
tank in my garage so how would it work for me???

--
Brenda
"Nothing...I got nothing for sale."

I didn't listen to any weather people. I watched every update online.
The graphics show the full warning area including warnings/watches all
the way up the coast 48 hours out and don't name any cities so there
isn't the bias of tv/radio reports.

So you are saying the people are just sheep and won't go unless someone
says they must. That is like people under a tornado warning thinking
"it will only be an F0 because that is all we've ever had around here"
who then get plowed under by an F5. As for my dog, yes I'd leave her
behind. She might make it on her own; my DD, who just learned to climb
stairs, couldn't. I'm also not certain I would trust a public shelter
or if I would just get in the car and drive as far as I could. I guess
the thing that irks me is all the griping about "only an hour or two of
notice" since people in danger from a tornado or flash flood might have
literally only a couple of minutes of notice or none at all. You don't
have time to think about saving property from those storms so why do
people think they should be able to save everything from a hurricane?

Lucille wrote:
Sorry but I really don't agree with you that the people had plenty of time.
Even if they had been warned in a timely fashion, where were they supposed
to go. Florida is a very narrow peninsula and unless they were told they
must evacuate, and/or they were assured they would be the hardest hit, it
isn't an easy task to pack up and go when you don't have either the funds to
try and get a hotel/motel, or family or friends at a far enough distance to
be safe. And the shelters, which didn't hold up anyway, won't take pets.
Would you leave your cat or dog or bird to fend for themselves?? I doubt
that I would. Also, there hasn't been a storm like this in that area for
the last 40 years so I suppose right or wrong people get out of the habit of
listening.

I'm also not sure which weather people you listened to. Here in Florida
most of the reports that came directly from the National Weather Service
seemed to think the storm would hit Tampa and they suggested the evacuation
there. There were constant updates across our screens no matter what we
might have been watching on TV and for me most of the ones I paid attention
to were not from regular reporters, but rather from execs at the weather
service.

As for Gary's remarks, I know that where I live there are a lot of small,
old, mom & pop motels. I doubt that they could afford to have a generator
large enough to be of use. I think some of the newer, bigger ones might be
able to do so, and probably could afford to do so, but the little guys, I
doubt it.

Just my opinion.

Lucille



"Rhiannon" wrote in message
...

I believe Gary was saying that hotels/motels should have generators. He
wasn't saying every homeowner should.

One thing that is disturbing is how the warnings were given way in
advance for the area that was hit but the media latched on to the
concept of Tampa being the center of the storm track and ignored
everything else. Since that is where the media focused, that is where
the storm was taken most seriously. If everyone in the original warning
area took precautions whether they were in the "center" of the warning
or not, they would have had plenty of time.

Lucille wrote:

I beg to differ with you Gary. Most Floridians I know do prepare for a
hurricane. And this particular hurricane didn't come close to being on
track and the major damage was in an area that had only a couple of

hours

warning; hardly enough to evacuate or get out of its way. Remember too
that few if any Florida homes have basements so where are people

supposed to

go to get out of the way of a tornado or a hurricane?

I don't know very much about generators, but I've been told that they

are

usually powered by gas. Where might you suggest many Florida

homeowners,

with either a very small house with just a little land around it or a
manufactured home with no garage and almost unused land put said

generator

and the gas to power it in a storm? I personally can't imagine having a

gas

tank in my garage so how would it work for me???

--
Brenda
"Nothing...I got nothing for sale."





--
Brenda
"Nothing...I got nothing for sale."

I'm not quite sure where you live but here it can take 1/2 hour to go a
couple of miles when the traffic is heavy and from my place there is only
one road out. Of course, there's also the fact that most of the major
north/south roads are near the water, so I'm not sure how safe that would
be. How far do you think we could get in two hours in very heavy, very
slow moving traffic? I don't think it would work the way you seem to think
it would. And for some older people who need to carry medical equipment it
would be near impossible? And when you get far enough away, where do you
eat and sleep? I wonder if you've ever lived through a hurricane and have
any clue of the speed, the wind and the strength it brings. I have seen a
tornado and I have been through a hurricane and I can't truly say which is
worse, except that the hurricane lasts for a much longer time and covers a
much wider area.

You also neglect to say whether when you have those few minutes of warning
for a tornado (which we have here in Florida too) you can go into your
basement and hunker down there. Florida homes don't have such luxuries.

I don't think this is a productive thread so I'll give it up and agree that
maybe your tornados and floods are the worst thing and you would have been
much more efficient in getting out of the way quickly, but I still have to
feel awfully sorry for the misery it caused.

Lucille


"Rhiannon" wrote in message
...
I didn't listen to any weather people. I watched every update online.
The graphics show the full warning area including warnings/watches all
the way up the coast 48 hours out and don't name any cities so there
isn't the bias of tv/radio reports.

So you are saying the people are just sheep and won't go unless someone
says they must. That is like people under a tornado warning thinking
"it will only be an F0 because that is all we've ever had around here"
who then get plowed under by an F5. As for my dog, yes I'd leave her
behind. She might make it on her own; my DD, who just learned to climb
stairs, couldn't. I'm also not certain I would trust a public shelter
or if I would just get in the car and drive as far as I could. I guess
the thing that irks me is all the griping about "only an hour or two of
notice" since people in danger from a tornado or flash flood might have
literally only a couple of minutes of notice or none at all. You don't
have time to think about saving property from those storms so why do
people think they should be able to save everything from a hurricane?

Lucille wrote:
Sorry but I really don't agree with you that the people had plenty of
time.
Even if they had been warned in a timely fashion, where were they
supposed
to go. Florida is a very narrow peninsula and unless they were told
they
must evacuate, and/or they were assured they would be the hardest hit,
it
isn't an easy task to pack up and go when you don't have either the
funds to
try and get a hotel/motel, or family or friends at a far enough distance
to
be safe. And the shelters, which didn't hold up anyway, won't take
pets.
Would you leave your cat or dog or bird to fend for themselves?? I
doubt
that I would. Also, there hasn't been a storm like this in that area
for
the last 40 years so I suppose right or wrong people get out of the
habit of
listening.

I'm also not sure which weather people you listened to. Here in Florida
most of the reports that came directly from the National Weather Service
seemed to think the storm would hit Tampa and they suggested the
evacuation
there. There were constant updates across our screens no matter what we
might have been watching on TV and for me most of the ones I paid
attention
to were not from regular reporters, but rather from execs at the weather
service.

As for Gary's remarks, I know that where I live there are a lot of
small,
old, mom & pop motels. I doubt that they could afford to have a
generator
large enough to be of use. I think some of the newer, bigger ones might
be
able to do so, and probably could afford to do so, but the little guys,
I
doubt it.

Just my opinion.

Lucille



"Rhiannon" wrote in message
...

I believe Gary was saying that hotels/motels should have generators. He
wasn't saying every homeowner should.

One thing that is disturbing is how the warnings were given way in
advance for the area that was hit but the media latched on to the
concept of Tampa being the center of the storm track and ignored
everything else. Since that is where the media focused, that is where
the storm was taken most seriously. If everyone in the original warning
area took precautions whether they were in the "center" of the warning
or not, they would have had plenty of time.

Lucille wrote:

I beg to differ with you Gary. Most Floridians I know do prepare for a
hurricane. And this particular hurricane didn't come close to being on
track and the major damage was in an area that had only a couple of

hours

warning; hardly enough to evacuate or get out of its way. Remember
too
that few if any Florida homes have basements so where are people

supposed to

go to get out of the way of a tornado or a hurricane?

I don't know very much about generators, but I've been told that they

are

usually powered by gas. Where might you suggest many Florida

homeowners,

with either a very small house with just a little land around it or a
manufactured home with no garage and almost unused land put said

generator

and the gas to power it in a storm? I personally can't imagine having
a

gas

tank in my garage so how would it work for me???

--
Brenda
"Nothing...I got nothing for sale."





--
Brenda
"Nothing...I got nothing for sale."

"Lucille" wrote in message
...
You also neglect to say whether when you have those few minutes of warning
for a tornado (which we have here in Florida too) you can go into your
basement and hunker down there. Florida homes don't have such luxuries.

I don't think this is a productive thread so I'll give it up and agree
that
maybe your tornados and floods are the worst thing and you would have been
much more efficient in getting out of the way quickly, but I still have to
feel awfully sorry for the misery it caused.

Lucille

I am so thankful that we were fortunate, and avoided the brunt of the
storm. The folks who live in eastern and Southern Polk County have had
terrible devastation. The towns of Frostproof and Fort Meade especially, and
I think Lake Wales is in a bad way. I have friends who live by a lake there,
also radio operators, and I have heard nothing from them so far. It will be
at least a week to 10 days before all have the power back on, and there are
still many many people in the shelters, especially the special needs folk.
Most of these townships have people primarily in the low income level, and
they do live in the old-style trailers. These are the ones which are not
built for strong winds, and naturally, most of the residents don't have
insurance. They live very much hand-to-mouth on their seasonal earnings from
citrus, or on the ranches. Otherwise, they are the elderly and infirm. It's
just so sad!

It is hot ( mid 90s), humid, and must be bloody hell with no
air-conditioning, water, ice, showers etc. I know they are also running out
of toilet paper fast, and additionally fuel is in short supply. The Police
and rescue folks are short of fuel in the outlying areas, because the pumps
need electricity to operate. We have offered our RV to the Polk County
Emergency Communications team, since we have radios, antennas, and a
generator, which runs on diesel, and have 90 gallons of diesel aboard. It
seems sort of futile, I would like to really go out and help someone, but
uninformed do-gooders really only clutter up the situation.

Gillian

Remember too
that few if any Florida homes have basements so where are people supposed to
go to get out of the way of a tornado or a hurricane?


It's true that very few homes in Florida have basements, in part because the
land is pretty low -- those people I knew in Tallahassee who had basements
fought constant battles to keep them dry.


Where might you suggest many Florida homeowners,
with either a very small house with just a little land around it or a
manufactured home with no garage and almost unused land put said generator
and the gas to power it in a storm?

Don't think we don't have large site-built houses in Flroida -- there are
plenty of them! I live in a horse farm area, so there are lots of homes on
sizeable plots of land. Our house has a 1/2 acre yard, my parents and one
sister have more -- in my sister's case, a lot more. My parents and my
youngest sister both have generators. My step-father bought one five years ago
and had never had a need to use it -- he tried to start it, and no go...now
he's saying he's going to test it out every six months once he gets it started
again, just in case.

Katrina L.

Deb verbositized:

I agree a generator is important, but typically would not be used more
than once every few years or so, except in coastal areas.

Don't know about that Deb. I lived in St. Louis for over 50 years,
very far away from any coastal area and I used my home generator
several times a year. Sometimes not for more than a half hour or so.

At my place of business we had a massive dynamo, it only made sense to
have our own power. 12 Acres under glass is not a pretty sight when
everything inside freezes due to no really reliable electric utility
service.

When folks evacuate their homes, where do they go? Some to relatives
I'm sure, but many end up at motels.
A generator is CHEAP compared to loss of income for a week, plus what
about the employees who are out of work ONLY because electrical
service is not reliable.

Seems to me, ALL electrical services in areas prone to outages from
high winds should be placed underground out of harms way.

TTUL
Gary

Hi Lucille

The generator at my house was powered by natural gas, at the flip of a
switch and the turning of the dial that switched feed nozzles, we
could change to propane should the natural gas supply be shut off for
some reason. About the only thing that disrupts the supply of natural
gas is an earthquake, rare in St. Loo.

There are also generators that run on diesel which can be stored above
ground without fear of it blowing up like gasoline can.

My cousins home in Clearwater is a slab house too, but the slab is
well piered and his roof is strapped all the way to the slab. He has
a moderate sized generator, not enough to handle everything at once,
but he has choice, run the clothes dryer or the A/C or the Oven plus
just about everything else in the house. He has only lived in Florida
about 5 or 6 years now and has found it necessary to use his generator
over 20 times already, logging over 200 hours of operation since it
was installed about 5 years ago.

So Florida electric must be more unreliable that our lousy St. Louis
electric company. In 10 years I only racked up about but not quite
100 hours of necessary operation on mine over that time period.

TTUL
Gary

"Gary V. Deutschmann, Sr." wrote
in message ...
Deb verbositized:

I agree a generator is important, but typically would not be used more
than once every few years or so, except in coastal areas.

Don't know about that Deb. I lived in St. Louis for over 50 years,
very far away from any coastal area and I used my home generator
several times a year. Sometimes not for more than a half hour or so.

At my place of business we had a massive dynamo, it only made sense to
have our own power. 12 Acres under glass is not a pretty sight when
everything inside freezes due to no really reliable electric utility
service.

When folks evacuate their homes, where do they go? Some to relatives
I'm sure, but many end up at motels.
A generator is CHEAP compared to loss of income for a week, plus what
about the employees who are out of work ONLY because electrical
service is not reliable.

Seems to me, ALL electrical services in areas prone to outages from
high winds should be placed underground out of harms way.



TTUL
Gary

Now you've come up with a fabulous idea. I'm not very savvy when it comes
to this sort of thing, but I do know that you can't dig down more than a few
feet without hitting water. Can you bury lines under water like that? If
it's doable, can you come down here and try to talk these dopes into burying
the wires so we won't have so many power outages.

I'd be delighted to give you room and board and might even try to entertain
you while you were here.

Lucille