FL DG'ers - Hurricane Charley

Pati, doing the Happy Dance with you!

Good news indeed Pati ! I hope all our other D. G. friends fare as well. I have been watching the news nonstop and the devestation is horrible...My thoughts continue to be with all of you. Sharon

I just called our family and our son over there, just rain every now then so far is ok don't think will hit their area passing on the coast.
Hope everyone DG friends are ok no harm. Take Care!

Pati, that's good news for you, sigh a sigh of relief. Ginger, Randy is 54, same as me. He was a fishing guide around Sanibel and Captiva (those poor, poor islands this morning!) for years and wrote for Outside Magazine (maybe still does?). He and couple of other people opened a rum bar on Sanibel about a year ago, called Doc Ford's Rum Bar and Grill, I think, after the main character in his books. He posted later last night that though there is no electricity (he has a generator), and no phone, the DSL line is still functional, which may make it easier for some of the people in the devastated areas be able to communicate at least. None of Randy's friends and family would know how he is this morning if it weren't for the internet, and I for one am grateful.

Reports are now coming in for major loss of life in Punta Gorda, mostly from mobile home parks. DEP law enforcement is deploying members to help down there. Quite a few dead or missing. How terribly sad. Since most of the preictions showed landfall in Tampa Bay they were just not expecting landfall there and were not at all prepared.

Pati, that's wonderful news!! Seems so far DGers have been mighty lucky. I hope that trend continues

Floridian, I heard and posted that earlier when it was unconfirmed... then went back and edited it to tone it down some until it was confirmed. It is really so sad.

Mobile homes are so fragile in any kind of storm. Too bad for so many people that's all they can afford, especially so many elderly retirees in Florida.

We are not getting much FL news here now. Please keep us informed.

I got in on this thread late, needless to say I was kinda busy yesterday. We are fine here, just missed us. I feel and pray for the folks south of us!

I just got caught up with the postings on this thread.....so glad to read that the people here have heard from their families and all are doing well!

We came through it fine. Now we're just undoing the prior days preparations.

Valrico is about 9 miles from Tampa, and Sebring is 90 miles SE of Tampa. Sebring got hit harder than we did, but the thing basically went right in between the 2. We were a little nervous, as my Wife lives down there, but they were fine.

This storm that's rolling into us now, is actually worse tha what we saw last night.

Good luck to all those in NC, and SC. We knocked it down a bit for you, but you're still going to see some ugly weather.

Also, we still have to stay prepared. Tropical Depression 5 formed off of the Cape Verde Islands yesterday, and as of now, the long range forecast takes it on an almost identical path as Charley. They have it as between Cuba and the Yucatan, by next Thursday. Nothing to worry about yet, as these long range forecasts can be off by several 100 miles

Chris, you have storms rolling in now? Are they an aftermath of Charley, or another storm band? Is your office where you went in Varica, or Sebring?

Yeah, TD5 will bear watching if it becomes "Earl". Be hard for the FL west coast to take another hit.

Good to see you post BT....was worried you would have your hands full with three kids, etc. if it had gotten bad where you are.

LOL I could almost mirror what BT said. We have many plants we're moving back out and many objects in the house to be put back in their proper places. We got a storm a while ago that gave us more rain than Charley and did it in about 10 minutes. The mosquitoes are voracious again and it's terribly humid. Work 15 minutes, cool off for 30! It looks like we're losing several plants to all the wet, I may be out digging and potting shortly...blech!

TD 5, probably soon to be Earl, is following a normal storm path up through the Caribbean. Some folks here on the coast are saying that they will leave up most storm shutters and storm preparations until we get a better idea of where she's going. It should be an interesting week!

Darius,

This was just one of our daily summer showers. Lots of noise, and rain. The roll in almost every day between noon and 5. The office and where the kids and I live is in Valrico. Sebring is where their mom is. She's all that's left down there. Our house was sold down there about 2 months ago.

Lilypon,

If it had come through, we would have been safe. The office is new construction, so since they implemented the Miami building codes for all of FL a couple of years ago, they're all built to withstand a high Cat 3.

Did you here about one of the fatalities down south? This guy stepped out in 125 mph winds to have a cigarette, and got smacked by something. Smoking will kill you.

I am so glad to see so many folks posting to let us know they are okay. I hope it won't be too long before everyone hears from friends and family members letting them know they are safe and sound. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

We are looking at CNN right now.....having a building to retreat to that was constructed to withstand those conditions must be a great load off your mind. What we are seeing reminds me of tornado destruction.

Y'all pray for Agapanthus and her family........she's right there where Charley is headed in NC.

"eyes"

we finally got through to our family and the tampa folks were fine....the orlando folks are fine except my aunt's house, they went somewhere else and when they came back the house was fine but ALL their big trees were down, and the planting shed/bungalo in the back was crushed. I just wonder how all that mess will get cleaned up as they are 80 years old.
All is well though because no one was hurt.

Glad to read your family got through it ok weeds!

The guy that stepped outside to smoke a cigarette in the middle of a hurricane? Can you believe it? I guess you could say "He was dying for a cigarette!"

Been following these threads from the beginning and holding my breath hoping that all in Bonnie's and Charley's path would be safe. Hope the expected torrential rains that are occurring on the east coast spare you as well.

Darius, how are you doing in the NC area? Are you inland?

Jean

Jean, I'm about as far inland as you can be and still be in NC. Thanks.

I certainly hope that the guy who stepped outside for a cigarette did it of his own stupidity, and not because wife or mother wouldn't let him smoke in the house.

I have been following this thread because I have a sister in law in New Smyrna Beach out on the beachside about 25 miles south of Daytona and FL is a like a second home to us (hubby raised in Winter Park and well remembers Donna). She has gone to her parents in the past who live in Geneva which is east of Orlando. So far I have not been able to get hold of her and have heard nothing about conditions in either of these areas any info would be greatly appreciated.

thanks,
Joy

I sure am glad that those of you who have posted thus far are ok. All the citizens of FL are in my mind, heart and prayers as are the many people on up the coast.

Handhelpers is somewhere in NC at a friend's son's wedding this weekend. What a lousy time to have to go to NC. I wish I had asked her specifially where she was going.

I just got through to my sil's parents in Geneva FL. They are OK, PTL, Charlie went right over them and took many trees down, they are without power except for a generator and said it would be many days before regular power was back on. They can receive calls but cannot call out. They see many days of work ahead of them clearing their property.

They said that my sil, Barb, is also OK. She rode the storm out alone just north of Turtle Mound near the northern end of the Canaverial National Sea Shore. The main damage was a torn boat cover and much debris and branches in the roadways.

My prayers are that other have such reassuring good news.

Joy

Ponditis, Handhelpers was in Winston-Salem, far enough inland that they may have just had some rain.

Joyous, glad you heard, and that they are okay.

Thanks darius! She was very concerned about the storm when we chatted the other night. Glad she should be fine because I told her she would be. lol

What did we ever do without this internet? We can get up to the moment weather reports and can contact our loved ones and aquaintances easily. How nice is that?

Just heard from my youngest brother. They live in Boca (so I wasn't worried about them) but they went today to take some batteries, water, ICE and sanitary towles etc to some folks who live in a trailer near Port Charlotte.

He said, "They weathered the storm in a closet for close to 2 hours on the evening of the storm, and have no power, no incoming phone, (outgoing works-just no ringing), and they will stay until they find out if there's going to be power by Monday... I don't think there will be with all the downed power lines, trees etc."
edited for spelling

This message was edited Aug 14, 2004 9:52 PM

Pondy! Yep!... Handhelpers was here yesterday and spent an hr or so visiting, then went to W-S, which is further inland that I am. We got mostly rain here, very little winds from this storm.

By the way, hugs back to ya!! Keep smiling!

I have watched this thread from afar and feel strongly for all of you at risk from Charlie. I have just seen the desturction it caused on television here in Australia.It is hard to imagine being exposed to such ferocity from the weather. It is great to hear the support all the DGers in Florida have given to each other at this time andI am so glad that so far none have suffered any serious loss. Thinking of all of you! Ken

Thank you for your concern and your post, Ken.
It's a mess out there. I doubt we know yet the magnitude of the damage. Hard to assess deaths and injuries either, as there were so many frantic people on the move during this time. Also, there are are a lot of parttime residents in the state, so it may be assumed that they are at their other home.

Does Australia get anything comparable weatherwise? Most places do have their own variety of damage caused by mother nature.

Well, although I'm glad that we were saved from Charley's rage, I'm sorry for those who were not, especially as unexpected as it was for them.

Spent Thursday & Friday packing, Saturday & today unpacking. We live in a mobile home, so we tried to get as many clothes, food items, & 'precious memories' to as a safe place as possible.

Hope all our fellow FL, GA, NC, SC & VA DGers are safe & sound.

LOL...yesterday someone on the radio dedicated the Dixie Chicks song 'Goodbye Earl' to our next threat...

Update #9,842. Well, I have to spread it around to all the family, friends, etc. LOL My daughter called having her panic attack AFTER the worst was over. It was the "I want my Mommy" call. After all, she is only 42 !*grin* I was getting ready to saddle up and ride out, when she called back, had gotten it all together, and said they had checkpoints set for passing only residents through and I couldn't get there from here. So, she's going to be O.K.

My Red Cross daughter was called in this morning to go to Sarasota. That's where they have set up disaster central offices. She is commited for two weeks. The FEMA semi-trailers left Atlanta yesterday evening with tents, field kitchens and supplies for housing the people. Florida Power had huge conveys going over from Miami, Ft Lauderdale and West Palm Beach. These cities also sent police. Most of the roads going into the little towns in central Florida are two lane and it'e difficult to travel on them with all the emergency vehicles using them. Her Stuart Red Cross office sent their ERV (Emergency Rescue Vehicle) over last evening. They contact resturants, churches, etc. to prepare meals for them, then they go out into the area and serve hot meals to everyone. Well, there was nothing in the area that could prepare food for them, so they loaded up with water, Potatoe Chips, Cheetos, wrapped crackers, etc. Not a balanced diet, but today they are trucking in hot meals prepared in this area's resturants. When FEMA sets up their field kitchens, they take over. The Red Cross also finds hotel, motel rooms for temporary housing, and transportation for those that can go to families. They also hand out vouchers for the people to buy mattresses, beds, tables and chairs, clothes, shoes, or whatever the immediate need is. This takes a tremendous amount of money. This is my daughters immediate responsibility, funds for disasters. They can draw from the National Red Cross, but have to refund it back to their disaster fund. She has a great support group of doners. Some called her yesterday from their summer homes up north with donations.

Darius, still holding on to the side of the mountain? How goes it up there? My cousins leave Hendersonville today to come back to Ft Myers. I don't know what they will find when they get there, just praying there isn't too much damage. They are almost 80 years old. I think this has been so hard on the people effected by this 'cane. When you're young you can look ahead to rebuilding your life, when you're old the vision of rebuilding the future is much dimmer.
Pati

Good news from the coast of NC at Wilmington; actually 20 miles north. We came through pretty good. Lines down, no power (thank goodness for the generator) but rain, rain and still more rain today. I've read all the posts, it seems that Clearwater came through ok, but we still haven't heard from our relatives there which is a bit troubling....
Our "Fran" was your "Charlie", so my heart is with all of you in Fla.
Hang in.

Pati, Thanks for so detailed a picture of what's happening on the positive side to help folks in the area. Mkes it easier to see what needs we can fill as they start collection drives (including much needed money) locally across the country. The Red Cross has been advertising heavily on the Weather Channel for donations today.

This morning when I talked to my sister, they did not have electric and had been told it would be "days". I just got off the phone with dd and she had talked to them and they had electric. This is in Polk County.

Vic, my daughter's electricity came on late this afternoon. Seems the trouble was a big tree that had taken down the line to their one little section. The crews came and repaired it, thank goodness! Sometimes, with all the help coming in, the electric gets on a little faster. Hope that is the case with your family.

Darius, my Fort Myers cousins got home from the mountains about one this afternoon. They had seven trees down across their house. The weight of the trees had broken one truss over the bedroom, but had not broken through the roof tile so they didn't have water in the house. They drove though Sarasota and were astonished at the number of trucks, police cars, emergency vehicles etc. This is the staging area. My daughter said that at 7:30 AM tomorrow there is a big meeting with the heads of all the agencies to coordinate the activiities. The Red Cross has 400 volunteers in place now, more expected. The "Henry Kitchen" arrives from Atlanta tonight. It is a semi-trailer outfitted as a kitchen and will supply the ERV. They load the food into the ERV and it goes out into the areas where people are cut off from the main sources. They will serve 9,000 meals tomorrow. Breakfast , lunch and dinner. After eating cold food from cans, that hot meal makes a world of difference.
Pati

Pati, glad your cousins had no worse problems.

I'm so grateful you give us an "Insiders" picture of what's happening on the local levels. Hom many more than 9,000 hot meals are really needed, though?

There are MANY more than the 9,000 meals needed, and more will be provided as soon as FEMA get their field kitchens up and running. We are beginning to get more reports about the small towns inland. Tiny little towns that no one would recognize their names.
Pati