FL Survival / A Survival Community
General Forum => General Discussion => : catfishn September 06, 2017, 07:22:13 PM
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I think my area of the State, Central West Coast, will be spared from most of the effects of the storm. But, it will give me a chance to review my supplies and plans to stay safe.
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Hope you are right. Stay safe.
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It is interesting watching all the people line up for water and gas. It's times like these that my wife tells me she is glad we "have stuff". Its also a good teaching moment for my son: watch and learn why we don't wait until the threat is upon us.
Its also a good learning moment for me: what works and what are we short on.
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Long lines to get fuel. Some people getting upset so police are at some of the stations to keep the peace and resolve traffic flow issues. Unfortunately that's an issue for me. I commute to work so keeping the tank topped off is quite inconvenient. Otherwise I'm set and not stressing out. I'm hoping we'll close early at work. I'd rather not be driving at 11 PM on Saturday night. Fortunately I'm off on Sunday. As for others I'm hearing a lot of complaints because they can't find water to BUY, bath tissue, or bread. They can't think through to use containers and tap water etc. I'm glad I try and practice being grey.
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Hope you are right. Stay safe.
Thanks, you too.
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It is interesting watching all the people line up for water and gas. It's times like these that my wife tells me she is glad we "have stuff". Its also a good teaching moment for my son: watch and learn why we don't wait until the threat is upon us.
Its also a good learning moment for me: what works and what are we short on.
Yup. No sense in getting stressed out trying to get stuff at the last minute.
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Long lines to get fuel. Some people getting upset so police are at some of the stations to keep the peace and resolve traffic flow issues. Unfortunately that's an issue for me. I commute to work so keeping the tank topped off is quite inconvenient. Otherwise I'm set and not stressing out. I'm hoping we'll close early at work. I'd rather not be driving at 11 PM on Saturday night. Fortunately I'm off on Sunday. As for others I'm hearing a lot of complaints because they can't find water to BUY, bath tissue, or bread. They can't think through to use containers and tap water etc. I'm glad I try and practice being grey.
Good luck. Amazing how people are not prepared in a State that is subject to yearly hurricanes.
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Anyone kinda/sorta hoping it hits to test out your preps? O0
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I think my area of the State, Central West Coast, will be spared from most of the effects of the storm. But, it will give me a chance to review my supplies and plans to stay safe.
West coast? Better keep a close watch on her, the NHC's trying to send it right over top of you!
Everybody keep safe, see y'all on the flip flop.
(or if FPL has its usual say......... in a couple weeks)
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No I'd rather not have to test my preps in real life especially by myself. I lived on the coast in Destin when Opal came through. It was not pleasant either during or after.
The handyman will be back today to help me move some things and hopefully brace the garage door. When he goes I'll get the house staged to make things easier when the power goes out. From there the cooking and baking will begin to both use up some things in the refrigerator and ensure I have some tasty fresh things to eat for the next couple of days. Next on the list is to clean the house and do a lot of laundry. It's getting crazy out.People are starting to panic. Fights are breaking out, security is in some stores when they receive supplies. I've seen some that have evacuated in tears. They left without a plan and had no where to stay because the hotels were booked. Gas is still an issue. It can be found but you have to look for it and be patient as the lines are long. won't last. At some point the deliveries will stop coming until after the storm. I'm good for now but I'm still trying to keep the car topped off. It doesn't take long to burn through gas in during my commute to work.
I wasn't seeing much information on projections for my area but I finely remembered to check acuweather. The worst right now is 54 mph with gusts to 109.
I looked up the expected damage at various wind speed so if interested here it is.....
http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/aboutsshws.php
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Well, it looks like those of us in Pinellas County and other Counties along the west coast are going to be in for the worse of it.
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Got most preps done, I have minimal shutters, helped board up 2 other houses. Running through last of my preps now. If my home survives this, I'm fairly confident I will be ok, we will be without power likely for weeks if not longer. I'm in N Ft Myers so in direct path.. I live on the water, the surge can be bad but my house is higher than most in my neighborhood. I was surprised how many others were staying. Winds scare me, I have a couple gable ends, coul;d catch wind.
Anyways, this will be the last time to post till after storm.
Everyone be safe and God bless!
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We are as prepared as we can be. This will be our first time to utilize our skills from a hurricane. I hope and pray everyone on this forum is ready and stays safe. Please, y'all... no Rambo's or hero mentality, just keep you and your family's safe. Talk to y'all again soon. God Bless..
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We are also in west/central fl but inland a little ways and we are as ready as can be. I wish everyone here luck, be safe and if it's not safe- run.
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Toxoph I hope all goes well for you. I spoke with a HAM in your area about 3 AM this morning. He reported 31 FT waves. YIKES! I hope that was an error. He thinks he'll be fine as he is just east of 41. My repeaters are in emergency mode so not a lot of traffic right now.
I'm as ready as can be at this point. I did have a couple of red flags yesterday. The handyman brought someone with him to help with a task I needed done. The handyman was referred to me but this is the the first time I've really dealt with them. I really dislike having people at the house. "oh don't forget you have XXX, wow you have a lot of XXX. It felt like they were taking inventory. Coming home late last night the roads were empty except for one car behind me flashing me with their lights. Gave me the creeps. I came home and saw a video from the Sheriff that looters etc would be dealt with harshly. I felt better after that ::) I do like our Sheriff but I do not expect those so inclined to take advantage of people will be deterred. Unfortunately we will need to be ready for that too. The' expectation here is 110 mph winds and flooding from a river. My biggest issue is the wind. If I make it though that I'll be ok other than a lot of yard work and inconvenience. I think this is the first time my boss has been through a storm. He's pretty good to me usually. I couldn't help but laugh when he suggested we would try to reopen Monday afternoon. At 10 AM the winds will be 45 mph so the first chance to get the trucks out will be at 11 when they drop to 37 MPH. I'm 30 miles from work. I'm scheduled at 3 PM. That's plenty of time for the county to clear the roads, pump the flood water off the one I need to get there, do damage assessments, check the safety of the water supply, restore power, and resupply resources such as gas.
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I'm in Punta Gorda and we are getting the outer bands right now. Saw sparks fly from from a transformer just down the road but I still have power. I'm OK with power going out for a few days. I have three freezers to clean out for friends that headed north at the last minunit and don't want to return to rotten meat in their freezers. I'll be eating good for a few days :D
I'm not real worried about the wind or the rain but the storm surge projected for my address could be an issue.
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How is everyone doing? Got power, all safe?
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Doing okay here. Lost power for about 12 hours, just enough time to give the generator a little run. Lost a little fencing and a few branches, but nothing serious. Now I am starting to keep an eye on Jose.
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All my kids, Tampa and Merritt Island are all safe, minor damage.
Good to Hear FLP, is Jose going to be a problem?
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Generator uses more gas than I thought it would. Couldn't run the pump, I tried about every combination I could come up with. I don't think the Gen has enough, lost power Sunday night. Trying to keep the freezers going, FYI tac out the temp then run the Gen for a half hour cut off repeat later.
3 trees uprooted, an no landline phones but my Lil Group is doing good.
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Doing well here. Lost power about 11:40 PM on Sunday. Oddly the first thing I lost was land line service. That came back last night. Cell service is back intermittently but texting doesn't work. The generator is doing the job. I have to bring it in when I can't watch it so I lost few products left in the refrigerator but everything in the freezers is still frozen. The yard is a mess but no damage to the house so far. I was told we would have power back by 2 PM today. Kudos to the power company! I got a robo call from them last night that assessments would take a couple of days so I was expecting to be without power for a week at least. As I lost all normal means of communication the HAM station came in very handy. I was able to report in conditions, make relay calls etc. Unfortunately the storm did damage our main repeater but I was able to reach out on another one. I did a happy dance after that. I'm still pretty new at it so I was pleased I was able to find a work around. At first I thought it was my equipment and was scrambling with changing out antennas, changing to mobile vs base etc. I have power at work so I go back today. My vacation to south FL for an event was supposed to begin this weekend.
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I lost power for about 36 hours. There's still folks here in punta gorda without power. lost six trees so my fire pit is stocked for fuel for a long time. Fred, is my 4 foot mouser and he choose to ride out the storm wrapped around some auto parts on my back porch that were on a shelf. I was glad to see he made it because he is the best mouser I have ever had.
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In rural Citrus County, we are in day 3 of no power. Generator carb is fucked, won't start. Light, easy to repair damage, no injuries. Cell service is back in full capacity. We are eating well, plenty of water, plenty of LP. Starting to stink. All in all, life is good.
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We rode out the storm at brothers as we live in a manufactured home right now.
Power out until about 2 hours ago, water on about an hour ago.
House sustained no damage so we are VERY happy considering some in our community had carports and sheds ripped off.
Some others had some siding and minimal damage but overall not bad for mfg homes.
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Good to hear no one hurt. Thanks.
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We rode out the storm at brothers as we live in a manufactured home right now.
Power out until about 2 hours ago, water on about an hour ago.
House sustained no damage so we are VERY happy considering some in our community had carports and sheds ripped off.
Some others had some siding and minimal damage but overall not bad for mfg homes.
we rode it out in a mobile home or "trailer ". A triple wide home
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I survived the storm. Lost a huge oak tree in the front yard, that had it fell to the east, it would have taken out a 1/3 of my house, but thankfully, it fell south, and did not do any damage. I have been without power since Sunday afternoon. But, I did make bags of ice and froze water bottles that have helped keep me cool at night, and using flashlights and glow sticks for light at night. They are estimating all power will be restored by midnight Friday. I need to get a battery powered fan...
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I'm glad everyone else is safe too.
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Safe here in Fort Myers, I was out of power for 4 days from Sunday to Thursday night. My generator did very good though it did burn a lot of gas. Rigged up a portable air conditioner unit in my bedroom so it was tolerable. I had roof damage with a few shingles that got ripped off down to the tar paper, luckily I had extra shingles in the Attic and fixed it along with a neighbor pretty quick. We had several incidents of people in our neighborhood Who shouldn't have been but I was real proud of my neighbors as we all stuck together and patrolled it pretty good. The cops had to come out three times. A neighbor and me ran off some other people who were scouting it out and obviously didn't belong here! My trees did real good, my oak tree protected my one side and my Willow Tree protected my other side, my banana trees are toast! I have a hive of bees who took up residence under one of my shutters and I can't get the guy out to remove them but I'm working on someone else to remove them, and less than a week they've already built Honeycombs with honey in them, it's like a science project that I can watch from my living room window!
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After Action Report...........
What items did you need and did NOT have.
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My power was just restored, it had been out since Sunday afternoon. I still have plenty of water, food, batteries, etc. I need to get a battery powered fan. I will also keep more ice and frozen water bottles on hand, while it might not last for more than a week or so, I ran out of both on Thursday, and both can be used to drinking and cooking once melted.
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No power yet. No worries. I should have had the rain catch system set up but I didn't think I'd be out this long so I used the time and energy dragging tree limbs to the curb. I'll finish the rest when the power is on and I can use my blowers/chain saw. My hands are in shreds. I can't rake anymore. The electrician was supposed to be here yesterday and again today. He says for sure tomorrow he will connect the well to the transfer panel so I can use the generator to power it. It rained yesterday and I was able to capture 20 gallons of water off the roof as well as get cooled off. Of course that meant I looked a hot mess this morning so I cheated and went to a salon. What would I do different or wish I had? A battery powered hair dryer :)I would like to get the garage door braced. There is also not a way to lock that door or keep it open. The bar that is usually there is not on mine so I have a work around to secure it but I'm not sleeping well with that set up. This wasn't noticed until I had to disengage the auto door opener. That will need to be fixed. More ice blocks, more lights, more fans a convenience not a necessity I'm doing fine. Heavy duty gloves. I tore my hands up. Possibly gas powered yard equipment. I have the blowers, chain saw etc but mine are electric. I have a lot of trouble pulling the cords to get these types of things started. Perhaps I should start using the gym. Other than that I know I would struggle with doing most repairs by myself. As it is I have some trees that were damaged and I'll need to hire out to get that taken care of.
I had to wait to get in at the salon so I wondered around a grocery store. Gas supplies are back to normal but the stores are not. Many of the shelves in produce, frozen foods, and snack isles were empty. Also of note chivalry isn't dead. I had filled up some gas cans and started filling up the van. The man behind asked if the cans were full, put the caps on and placed them in the van for me. Of course he could have just wanted to speed things along but I prefer to think he was being nice. I remember talking to him at work a couple months ago (was a customer). He just got out of the military. I don't think he recognized me.
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Need a transfer switch,
Had trees down got them cleaned up. .
Need more gas cans..
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Woo Hoo!!!! Power was on this morning. I used about 20 gallons of gas in the generator and finished with more water than I started with :). I'll add more outdoor solar lighting to my wish list. It made me nervous not to be able to see out into the yard. I do have some good flashlights with a long throw but that doesn't work so well through a window when you hear something go bump in the night. Someone at church offered to take a look at a few damaged trees I need to have removed :)
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To the many that complain, I don`t feel sorry for them; no water, no food, no basic equipment whatsoever to make a go of a bad situation. There is no need for a generator but if so, fuel was available since June, the beginning of the season, I got my 30 gallons worth ,propane the same ,canned food ,water ,instant coffee ,flour ,yeast ,lard ,baking powder ,dry milk ;also available since June ,no justifiable reason to complain .I saw many buying beer and alcohol before the storm hit ,bags of chips too ,why? .I saw fighting over bread while the shelves were full of flour and yeast ,I saw people buying frozen goods and perishables right before the storm hit ,why?.Generators with air filters full of lizard eggs from been in storage for years and no spared parts ,brand new generators that after starting fail to produce power ,too late .So I don`t feel sorry for those who now do nothing but complain .
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I've got a little bit of time to respond better. I am not complaining, I had cool water in a cook pot in a tub with a cup and a wash cloth and soap to get clean. I also had baby wipes to help wipe down with and wipe or clean off my hands. I had some water in a Big bowl with a touch of bleach sitting in my kitchen sink to wash hands with. I did dishes, I used generator to power the freezers, and catch the news every so often or to turn on PBS cartoons or a movie for the lil one, run vacuum cleaner. And power up our big fans and to power our Stanley "battery box". The Stanley battery box has a USB port and cigarette lighter port, a light, and a set of jumper cables and air pump. We used the Stanley device to charge phones an power a cigarette port plug in Fan. We also had a camp fan that runs on 8 Ds I think. Several battery flash lights, oil lanterns, candles, and glow sticks, we set or better yet I did set out buckets I put a quarter of water in to catch rain to use to flush toilets and rinse garments off, I also filled a 15 gal trash can for flushing and bathing water. I had a 5 gal igloo container we topped off and used for drinking water left on the counter, we added bottled water as needed.
We had went to see and look at the water and gas situations, the water was unfounded by day 2 like um Fri maybe and I told the wife not to worry about it I had some, pulled out about 6 gallons of bottles of water and a case. Couldn't find no gas cans, we had a full Gen and I had one 5 gal a damaged 5 that held about 3 or 4 gal and a single 1 gal gas tank. We also got 5 gal worth of gas in a tank from a "friend" cause we had some of there meat in our freezer. And I filled one 5 extra gas tank we emptied and ran the Gen dry before we got power. A friend who worked a Publix gave us a loaf of bread so we had 3 loaf I think. An I cooked pancakes on a iron skillet on a gas grill. I didn't go overboard I had 2 tanks of propane and I seen people get 5 or so. I was content if I ran out cause I have made a cinder block rocket stove. I have a Stanley Thermos made camp cup with added french press I got last year in the camp section of Walmart for 20$ I think so I didn't need to use instant. I heated water over 3 tea lights and put in cup over coffee and pushed in the French Press and added the lid and was good to go. I had options for potable water and non potable water sources. I have went through over a week in winter with snow an no power and I was less prepared it sucked this was like camping in style, I didn't need a Porta John. And I didn't need a tent. I had a harmonica and a old guitar to play poor music and be distracted. I am hindered no denial but I had stuff to do and work to start. I was occupied no joke. Jokers Wild, from this "Card" I was in a tough hand, but with out me I feel my family would've had been worse off. I made things operating as smooth as possible under the circumstances.. I tried for 2 hours every option, With wires to run our well I came to a dark conclusion the Genny don't have enough booty to run the well we got, so I have to figure something out. I did primary clean up for us we had 3 oaks in the front yard down a neighbor helped to clean up. The way they fell was a miracle. Our phones have been affected by irma and still aren't right yet. We rode our the storm in our "trailer home" area. It had a tin roof put on about Feb last year I think helped or the roof would've been worse off. I didn't wait long or fight for "gas". I didn't hunt for warer, or other use supplies. I had batteries and a radio. I was better set up for this which was a primary readiness goal. And we did well in my assessment. I had several manual can openers and I ate pork and beans cold from a can a couple times. Better for this than I thought do to what I'm gleaming from here (thank you all) and my prior experiences, and army training, and learning. FLS has been integral to the present preparedness. I am sorry I learned one here had a roof issue and I can't help from here. I would help in some ways if possible but roofing isn't in my experience of things to any helpful degree.
If I think of more I'll add later..
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I have been absent lately and reading this thread, I regret that.
We got hit hard here.
When it was prep time, The Admiral asked what we needed and neither of us could think of anything we needed that we didn't have. We went to Publix and picked up potato chips and were like tourists amazed and gawking at the empty shelves.
We were well prepared and knew that we were well prepared. We knew that this was just going to be inconvenient for us. I was actually looking forward to the experience of witnessing the power of nature again. The two of us would be fine.
Then everything went south.
The Admirals son and 2 teenage kids called and let us know they would be staying with us till the storm clears as they live in a doublewide mobile home. So much for enjoying the experience!
We live in a 5 story concrete apartment building on the 4th floor. It's a solid hurricane fortress for most purposes.
My mistake is that The Admiral and I are in step with prep/survival that I take for granted that other folks have the common sense skills and habits that we do. I should have put on a class and gone over all of the hundreds of rules that we take for granted.
The power went out at 10:00 that night and didn't come on for 5 days. At 2:00 that morning the roof started coming off and things were getting real. They are still trying to work it out but over a million dollars worth of damage was done to the building. The roof was mostly in the parking lot but was scattered across the street.
But lets talk about the hurricane disaster.
With people camped all over the living room, there was little privacy and a lot of general distraction during the storm. Before the electric went off instead of watching the news gleaning all information they wanted to watch football. I have no idea or interest in who won. After the lights went out we played rummy by lantern which was kind of nice.
The next morning, the girl let the water out of the bathtub to take a shower. As it turned out, we never lost water pressure but I still burst a blood vessel in my head.
An hour later I walked out to the sight of one of them standing in the kitchen, holding both refrigerator doors wide open, apparently trying to decide if there was anything in there that might appeal to them. I had another full blown brain aneurism.
That afternoon they were complaining that the soft drinks were warm. Three days later, they left with all the supplies they came with (some soft drinks and beer), and even though it would be two more days before we got electricity, it felt like the emergency was finally over.
The heat was miserable but survivable and would get better with acclimation. Climbing four flights of stairs was actually good for us and provided enough incentive to cause other folks to seek shelter elsewhere. We had enough of everything (even potato chips) and everything worked. Was very happy with our preps and lighting systems.
I actually got a temp job driving a fork lift clearing debris. What else are you going to do with no electricity?
We did great, had no problems, but I hope this is my last hurricane. If it's not, no two are the same so we will see how it works out next time...