Ana
Thanks for your prayers From the way this one is shaping up will certainly need it. Has all the worst features a hurricane can have.Very large,slow moving.sustained winds over 140 ,extremely wet and will probably make landfall at high tide.YIKES!! There are still undecided as to a Florida landfall but looks like right over my house lol.
I had always planned on leaving during a bad one but as I feared the traffic and shortages of gas would make that impossible. Due to the erratic path there was no way to decide earlier.Guess we're stuck here and hope for the best.
Certainly don't want to be out on the road during the worst of it.
I'd often wondered how it would be possible to evacuate
2 million people in a couple of days and if it can be done where do you locate them??
Hopefully this old house will hold together at least until the major part has passed. They're predicting wind in excess of 140 mph for at least 4 hours along with 10 inches of rain!!
I'd wanted to do some remodeling but had planned on a much slower pace maybe with a lot less noise lol
Thanks again gary

garyfla:
Boy! Do I know the feeling! We are on Typhoon alley, so is not a matter 'IF' is "WHEN'.
I do feel for you, hope all will be ok.
We just had one like that, but the construction here is different: cement block, reinforced with rebars and filled with cement, with a 7" cement roof pour continuosly (one slab with no seams) that's our home, not all are that way, but as they are destroyed, the must build to code, so there are very few left of the old ones. Our problem is the hill in our back yard, is holding good but is so saturated that water keeps on running into our yard, it been floded for 2 weeks now and it keeps on raining.
Anyway, take good care of yourself and I hope it goes away faster than the pace is has now.
Good luck!
Ana

garyfla:
Are you ok?
Anybody else from Florida out there? Doing ok?
Ana :)

Hi
At last the power is back on!!! We have air conditioning and ICE lol.Have no structural damage but the roof is leaking but not as bad as many of the neighbors. The neighborhood held up fairly well at least 80 percent are liveable. The storm drains worked and the dikes held on the lake so we just have puddles HOORAY!!! We have water,but it's contaminated at least we can take a shower.I had 75 gallons stored up so can share with those in need.
At least 100,000 homes have structural damage in the four county area,can't imagine where they'll put that many people even temporarily. The two counties to the north have 4 feet of standing water plus salt intrusion.
I feel sooooo blesssed to have a leaky roof lol
We were finally able to get out yesterday but couldn't get ice,or gasoline.They had supplies but the lines were 3 hours long !!!Several supermarkets opened yesterday and the streets were cleared enough to make travel possible but of course had very limited supplies.Fortuneately we still have
quite a bit of canned stuff and we were able to keep it dry.
My garden is completely flattened but the shadehouse is intact though many of the orchids were in neighbors yards.lol The aviary held together and I lost no birds at all!!! They sure were hungry though lol.
To my knowledge nobody in the neighborhood was injured
or killed. No trees fell on houses at least that I can find.
Now all we have to worry about is Ivan lol
Gary

Gary:
I'm sooo glad to hear that you, yours, birds and plants are ok, we watched Fox News all day, they did a great job at covering it. Geraldo Rivera was on for about 24 hrs straight!
A lot of damage, but, I bet they'll rebuild the same way and when another one comes they'll have the same problem. They should come to see our construction, our home was baptized with a 12 hrs nonstop 185 MPH with gusts of 210 MPH, all we had was some water coming thru the small 'emergency' air con.
I feel sorry for all those people living in trailers, they are band here.
Hope fricking Ivan dies before it gets to you, I believe you all had enough for a long time!
Glad to hear your neighborhood did ok too.
Ana :)

Ana
Thanks,hope Ivan listens to you.Florida has never had
3 hits in the same season. 25 years since one hit here.
Can't imagine what will happen if another hits.There must be hundreds of homes that couldn't take it,including mine.
Can't imagine 185 mph winds !! 115 was more than enough for me.
gary

Glad you're alright, Gary! Ivan is worrisome though. Will keep praying for y'all! Amazing that your birds were all fine!

Hi
Looks like Ivan is definitely going to hit Florida. Even bigger and more powerful than Frances. The current track is Tampa bay for landfall but Ivan is so large there's got to be some damage on the entire gulf side. They haven't recovered from Charley yet.
Still almost a million homes without power from Frances. 200,000 without water or sewer .
Have no idea what to do about my roof as it's missing shingles from Frances and there are some leaks. This time we'll be on the right side of the eye so will probably get the heaviest rains. There's no way the canals can take another 15 inches of rain.
Impossible to get any supplies and evacuation is out of the question as the shelters are all full.
Hopefully the mountains in Cuba will take some of the punch out of him but he's still going to be VERY wet.
Guess we'll grin and bear it lol.Sure don't see any other choice.
Gary

Thank goodness it missed Jamaica! Heading straight for cuba now though, I've heard, so that's not great. I believe they are a poorer country, and could suffer much more at the hands of Ivan. Still praying for everyone!

It's interesting that you say evacuation is impossible. Our news here told us last night that everyone is being evacuated from Florida. Just goes to show you can't trust the news!

Hi
At present they are "evacuating" the Keys due to Ivan.Since they average around 5 feet above sea level and there is only one highway connecting them to the mainland.
With 12 foot storm surge expected not to mention the winds you can see the problem .As you would expect the highways become a parking lot and there is no vacant rooms within 800 miles Another problem is gas there are thousands of stations that either have none or can't pump due to no power.Average waiting time is over 3 hours at the FEMA stations. Food is another problem along the entire route.
Those that are open are sold out.
If Ivan makes a slight turn to the right they could be driving in to the storm. Sort of the "rock and a hard place"
scenario lol.
"Evacuation" is a myth .How can you move 14 million people in 3 days ??
looks like Ivan is going to give us a break even though it will hit the pan handle. At least there evacuation to the north is possible unless there are too many leaving the Tampa Bay area. Can't imagine what will happen if it devastates another large metro area.
As to Cuba it looks like the large metro areas will be spared the major force but most of the west is uninhabitable due to Charley. Evacuation toward Havana is probably out of the question. I suspect the death toll will be very high there. Castro said "We are well prepared"lol
We'll see.
On a cheery note the "season" is half over and the mid Atlantic has dropped 2 degrees. Already a 2 percent decline in probability lol.
Gary

Hi
Finally got the power back!!!! HOOOray lucked out yet again with Jeanne and got only minor structural damage to the house.Both shadehouse were damaged this time as well as the aviary.Lost 3 birds though i haven't been able to determine why yet.Door was ripped off but the rest is intact
though had to patch some holes made bu falling limbs.
Lost a bunch of fish from the flooding and haven't been able to find a bunch of the orchids.Nothing was left standing in the yard and garden.Palms are leaning at a 45 degree angle but may be able to save a couple.
My terrarium indoors was without lights for a total of 20 days and looks pretty sad.Lost no fish and a big water change seems to have helped. Will probably have to just start over.

Sure hope this is the last one for 2004.Don't think my nerve could endure another.
Gary

Wow! I can't believe how many hurricanes there have been this year! So glad to hear that you are relatively unscathed! I hope Ana and everyone else is also safe.