Yet another hurricane thread...

[coppercoins]

Our friend and moderator BobP, and fellow collector Smed, are in the path of hurrican Ivan. reports are not good from their area, Destin, Fl. I talked with Bob yesterday and he assured me that he was prepared for the storm, and would be riding it out in his house. Nothing scares me more than the thought of spending hours in a very severe thunderstorm, which is essentially what a hurricane is. I have seen tornadoes, winds of over 100 mph, baseball size hail, but none of it lasted for more than half an hour...this is hours of pounding, destructive rain and wind.

This evening Bob and Smed's home area is expected to see 75-100 MPH sustained winds, heavy rain, 30-40 foot waves, and 12-20 foot surge. Like with Andrew, I suspect that the worst will be the case, but I certainly hope for the best for all involved, including our friends Bob and Smed.

Bob and I agreed that he would call me as soon as the worst of the storm was over, day or night. I have my cell phone turned on and next to me all the time, waiting for his call. I will post here as soon as that happens...he will likely be without internet access for at least a couple of days if not weeks.

I'll keep you posted as best I can. When I know you'll know right here.

[Bob P]

So far....nothing too bad has happened here. I left an update on the talk-cents board. Very bad weather so far, and about another 12-18 hours left of the heavy stuff. As promised, I will let Chuck know how things went when the storm has passed if communications are still possible. Until then, we are doing well. My daughter and I are VERY prepared for the storm, and in a good area that is not going to get the storm surge or waves. Take care....

[Gabe]

Bob, many of use have been through many hurricanes before, and this one should be no different. The main difference of a hurricane and a after-noon storm, is the amount of time the winds blow.

In a thunderstorm, you might get strong gusts of 70mph, but in hurricanes, you can get sustained winds up to 150 mph for a couple of hours. A great difference exists.

For thos who have been in many hurricanes, and have experienced their destruction first hand, there is always a sence of being connected to those people who are now currently in the path of hurricanes. The destruction that they leave behind is huge, and what followes after is not easy. Ive been up to 2 months without electricity, 1 month without water and I think about 4 months without internet or cable TV.

Its hard to bee surrounded by so much destruction at one time. Everything that one has known and worked for completely destroyed. The worst part is the waiting for the storm, because the axiety and wait doesnt allow you to focus on the most simple and routine things in life. This season has been a very active one. My shutters have been up for weeks, and no one has dared to take them down. After one thinks of finally bringing them down, another hurricane is on its way.

Ive been through about 6 hurricanes, Ive been through the eye of a couple, and have seen the destruction they have left behind. I have been witness to the looting and the after-maths of such storms. To protect my family's business, my grandfather and step-father had once to stand in fron of their business with guns to prevent looting. Storms like these really turn your life around.

I have spoken with my family in Puerto Rico, and they are Ok. They got a dirrect hit from Jeane, and it looks like the same storm could make it Florida, but it is still uncertain. I sometimes wonder why we live in this part of the world. THe fear of loosing everything is enough to want to move somewere else.

Bob, stay safe and keep us informed...

[coppercoins]

As promised, an update on BobP...

He called this morning at 8:30 (about half an hour ago) and said they sustained significant damage and are still in the storm, but the worst has passed and he, his daughter, and his dog are safe. A beautiful maple in their front yard, however, isn't so safe. It's gone. It's alright though...things like that can be replaced with time - just good knowing that Bob is safe. They lost power around 3AM and will probably be without power for 3-6 weeks at a minimum.

I tried to call Smed to see how things are with him and his family, but there was no service (to no surprise). I hope things are well with him. Smed, if you happen to find a way to come online and come here, please post an update for us.

I am assuming that Jack is okay, and I know Gabe lives too far Southeast to have been affected by this one. Jeanne, however, is streaking a path through the Atlantic now and bears watching. Something tells me that this one won't be a big one, though.

That's all I have for now.

[joeyuk]

I can't imagine going thru one of those storms.My best to all that have to.

[Bob P]

Well....believe it or not, I managed to get back on line...even if it's for a little while. As Chuck told you, we did sustain some major damage here....some of it, even difficult for me to comprehend. I (like Gabe), have been through many hurricanes (this one was my fifth). It was very scary at times, expecially when you can hear parts of your roof being ripped away, and the noise of the wind is almost unbearable.
Anyway, I will need shingles and some monor work done to the house. The trees have already been cut up and are laying by the road. General clean-up here will take a few weeks, but I have great neighbors, and we are receiving help from all over the states. We are fortunate in that all of our utilities in this sub-division are under ground, so we were without utilities for only 18 hours. I have posted a few pics to show you the power of these storms. I will try to get more pics later, but we are pretty much cut off from the rest of the county as most of the major roads have been washed out. Will chat with you all later!

[Gabe]

Hey Bob, glad to see that you are alright.

Your house appears to be in perfect condition compared to the images on tv comming from that area. I have never seen such a wide-spread hurricane flooding ever. It seems that the whole state is underwater.

It is pretty hard to think of an area in Florida that has not been affected by any of the 3 hurricanes that have already hit the state this season. During Frances, our neighborhood had some damage, but no damages to my house. I did record a lot of footage before, after and even during the storm. I was crazy enough to run down the street in 70+ mph winds to get some footage of flooded streets and trees covering the entire street. Huge trees I might add. When Frances finally passed through our area, a neighboor's tree fell on his car, and most of the streets were not drivable.

About 2 hours after everything started to calm down, I got in my car and drove up to Palm Beach County (were the eye went through), and saw more damage. A lot of powerlines down, a lot of trees down and a lot of damaged home. It was bad, but I had seen worst.

My dad lives in Puerto Rico, and I still have not been able to contact him since Jeanne swept through. Ive called him a couple of times a day, but nothing seems to get through. The whole island is still without water or electricity. One of my friends lost his mother in Jamaica, after she was swept by the waters during Ivan. It is hard to find anyone in this part of the country that has not been directly affected by this season.

My hurricane shutters are still up, and I think that I can start taking them down by tomorrow, unless something else appears on the radar. Anyways, this season will be one to remember..

[Bob P]

Here is an update of things around here as of Monday morning:
As much as I want things to get back to normal, it's not going to happen. The insurance and FEMA folks are in the neighborhood looking through things. I thought my home suffered little damage, but a subsequent inspection of the attic by the insurance adjuster showed that there is structural damage to 6 or 7 of the trusses. I was told that I would not be allowed to move back into the house until the trusses are braced or repaired. Needless to say, we worked all night to put temporary bracing on them. We got the inspection approval about an hour ago. It looks like it might take up to 6 months just to get roofing repairs in this area as many structures need new shingles and roofing.
Other than that, the clean-up in my area is pretty much complete. We now have tree lined streets (although I would prefer my trees still standing)
People have come together wonderfully here. All utilities are operational now. We still managed to have a tailgate party while watching a football game on TV...Beer never tasted so good.
Other folks in the area aren't so lucky, so tomorrow some of us are planning to help in other area of the county. I bought $200.00 worth of ice cream to hand out to kids around here. Needless to say, I have a lot of new friends.
Anyway...that's it for now. More updates if anyone is interested.

[Machiavelli]

Fasinating and Frightning at the same time I suspect. I live on complete flip and flop side from you.. Washington State and to say the least we have had no such bad luck I feel terribly sorry for you guys down there I am glad not too many were hurt in this torrential suicide of mother nature. Who made her mad I wonder maybe it was Bush being elected and this is her way of saying if he gets in again the whole world will feel it Just Kidding I hope for the best for you and your new found friends.

Mach

[Gabe]

Lol... now that you mention that, I heard someone today that the 3 hurricanes that hit Florida only directly hit countries that voted for George W Bush during the 2000 election. All Gore counties were spared. lol! Any way to verify this?

[Robert]

Charley = hit Charlotte county. Exited at Volusia county.

Frances = hit "Sewell's Point" in Martin county. Exited Pasco county.

Ivan = hit Baldwin county, Alabama. Not sure where it exited the US.

Election returns: http://www.cnn.com/ELECTION/2000/results/

Charlotte county was for Bush.
Volusia county was for Gore.

Martin county was for Bush.
Pasco county was for Gore.

Baldwin county, Alabama was for Bush.


So the impact sites were counties which voted for Bush, and the exit sites were counties that voted for Gore.

[Machiavelli]

Wow and i was joking lmao guess I nailed it without thought

Mach

[smed]

I came thru the storm pretty well, power was out for a week. JUST got my phone back this morning....

Here's some pics of my house and the neighborhood... http://www.coingalaxy.com/~smedscoins/Hurricane%20Ivan%20Pics/

[Bob P]

Glad to hear from you Smed. We were concerned. Can't believe it took that long to get phone service back. Looks like we will be cleaning some parts of the affected counties for a few more months yet.
Once again...glad to see you are all right!

[smed]

Turns out it was something in the test jack in the box outside the house. I may have screwed it up unintentionally.

There's so many phone problems that it's taking them a while to get around.