Saturday, August 14, 2004
Update: Eyewitness Florida hurricane report!
Add one:
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. -- Wow, I'm learning so much about hurricanes, storm systems, dams, locks and canals. More than I want to know, actually. First, I'm okay and our place is dry. The hurricane and the tornadoes it spawns went just a little west of us.
But, we didn't know that was what the hurricane was going to do and yesterday afternoon we were told to evacuate. It wasn't a mandatory evacuation, just a voluntary one, but it seemed like a good idea.
I live right next to one of the biggest inland lakes in the United States, 441 square miles. In order to keep it from flooding the towns around it (2,000 people were killed in a flood caused by a hurricane in1928 at this lake), built a 34-foot high dirt levee around it. There is also a canal that runs around the lake, almost like a huge moat, where they release water from the lake through locks when it looks like it's getting a little high.
Living on the canal isabout as close as you can actually get to the lake andis prime real estate around here, because you can launch your boat into the canal and then enter the lake through one of the locks. The condos where I live not only are right on the canal but also right next to one of the locks.
Yep, prime real estate -- until it looks like the lake is going to get a little high and then they release the water into the canal, which keeps the levee from breaking down and saves the towns from being flooded, but everyone along the canal is going to get a little wet. Then this prime real estate becomes one of the worst places to live.
So we evacuated. We unplugged all our electronic equipment and piled it up on the kitchen table, brought in all the patio furniture and any thing else that might be turned into a missile in a breezy hurricane wind, put anything else we didn't want to get wet up high, packed a few changes of clothes, loaded up the dog and went --well, where do you go?
Where do you evacuate to? How do you run from a hurricane? So here's another hurricane tip: If you move to Florida, no matter how far inland you are, have an evacuation plan. Yes, there were shelters opening up at the schools andI think even the movie house was letting people stay there.
But moving into a shelter doesn't mean you're going to be out of the path of the hurricane, floods or anything else. See, I thought that when the hurricanes hit land, they pretty much died out. But, no, that's not always the case. In fact, a few years ago, a hurricane crossed the state of Florida twice, from one side of it to the other, before losing strength.
I had no comprehension of how powerful these things were. I mean, Hurricane Charley hit in Punta Gorda, almost two hours away from me, and yet we were being asked to evacuate. I don't take shelter from a tornado until it's about 10 minutes away.
Anyway, I decided to head for the east coast, where my dad lives. They were under a tropical storm watch, but the hurricane was supposed to miss them. It turned out to be a good idea. It rained there but the wind didn't even really blow.
Today, watching the news and the coverage of the aftermath, I realize how lucky me and my family were. I can't believe some of the stories about people in the path of the hurricane who wouldn't evacuate. A whole trailer park of people wouldn't leave, and then later the sheriff's department had to listen to their 911 calls, but they couldn't get to them. It was pretty sad.
They say there's another depression building up in the ocean and will be in Jamaica in a few days and then they don't know where it will go. Pray it doesn't hit Florida again.
END
OKEECHOBEE, Fla. -- Wow, I'm learning so much about hurricanes, storm systems, dams, locks and canals. More than I want to know, actually. First, I'm okay and our place is dry. The hurricane and the tornadoes it spawns went just a little west of us.
But, we didn't know that was what the hurricane was going to do and yesterday afternoon we were told to evacuate. It wasn't a mandatory evacuation, just a voluntary one, but it seemed like a good idea.
I live right next to one of the biggest inland lakes in the United States, 441 square miles. In order to keep it from flooding the towns around it (2,000 people were killed in a flood caused by a hurricane in1928 at this lake), built a 34-foot high dirt levee around it. There is also a canal that runs around the lake, almost like a huge moat, where they release water from the lake through locks when it looks like it's getting a little high.
Living on the canal isabout as close as you can actually get to the lake andis prime real estate around here, because you can launch your boat into the canal and then enter the lake through one of the locks. The condos where I live not only are right on the canal but also right next to one of the locks.
Yep, prime real estate -- until it looks like the lake is going to get a little high and then they release the water into the canal, which keeps the levee from breaking down and saves the towns from being flooded, but everyone along the canal is going to get a little wet. Then this prime real estate becomes one of the worst places to live.
So we evacuated. We unplugged all our electronic equipment and piled it up on the kitchen table, brought in all the patio furniture and any thing else that might be turned into a missile in a breezy hurricane wind, put anything else we didn't want to get wet up high, packed a few changes of clothes, loaded up the dog and went --well, where do you go?
Where do you evacuate to? How do you run from a hurricane? So here's another hurricane tip: If you move to Florida, no matter how far inland you are, have an evacuation plan. Yes, there were shelters opening up at the schools andI think even the movie house was letting people stay there.
But moving into a shelter doesn't mean you're going to be out of the path of the hurricane, floods or anything else. See, I thought that when the hurricanes hit land, they pretty much died out. But, no, that's not always the case. In fact, a few years ago, a hurricane crossed the state of Florida twice, from one side of it to the other, before losing strength.
I had no comprehension of how powerful these things were. I mean, Hurricane Charley hit in Punta Gorda, almost two hours away from me, and yet we were being asked to evacuate. I don't take shelter from a tornado until it's about 10 minutes away.
Anyway, I decided to head for the east coast, where my dad lives. They were under a tropical storm watch, but the hurricane was supposed to miss them. It turned out to be a good idea. It rained there but the wind didn't even really blow.
Today, watching the news and the coverage of the aftermath, I realize how lucky me and my family were. I can't believe some of the stories about people in the path of the hurricane who wouldn't evacuate. A whole trailer park of people wouldn't leave, and then later the sheriff's department had to listen to their 911 calls, but they couldn't get to them. It was pretty sad.
They say there's another depression building up in the ocean and will be in Jamaica in a few days and then they don't know where it will go. Pray it doesn't hit Florida again.
END
