FL DG'ers - Hurricane Charley

Talked to my sister this morning...this just in from her dh....

Hello,

We were VERY lucky to get off as easily as we did. The damage all around us is devastating. About 20% of the big 100 year old oak trees were pushed over or splintered. All the trees have some damage. The mobile home parks took the worst hit. Carports, screen rooms, many of the aluminum structures have been damaged or destroyed.

Our house did very well. Three cheers for brick and block. That third little pig was pretty smart. As far as the roof goes we lost about a dozen shingles and our ventilation turbine. Our gas grill was blown over and smashed. The 6' picket fence one on side of our back yard was blown down. The grapefruit tree lost 1/4 of its fruit and the upper branches were shattered. Our A/C took a surge that fried the main power coupling. Our wonderful brand new 80 gig computer also got fried even though it was off. (guess we should have up-plugged it) We are back to using our old computer for now.

About one house in 20 has a big tree on it. We cut down both of our 100 year old oaks last year in part because we were worried about what would happen if we ever got hit by a "real" hurricane. The oak trees down here are different than those up north. (Water Oaks and Live Oaks) They are evergreen and their branches grow out horizontally as well as vertically. They are beautiful to look at but the huge horizontal branches create a big wind profile. Most of the older oaks have some sort of split in the trunk because they cannot support their own weight and previous storms have already started to split them.

Both of our big (3' diameter) oaks had tell-tale vertical splits in the truck. There is no doubt in my mind that if we hadn't taken them out they would have taken us out. The wind blew straight up our driveway. We have a large (14x28) aluminum boat port in our back yard. I was watching it during the storm because I knew it would be the first thing to go. At the height of the storm it looked like it was inflating. It puffed up and seemed to float about a half dozen times. Each time I thought this is it. Somehow it survived.

The boat port was built 2 years ago and the "Engineering" for the structure said it was rated for 110 mph winds. Guess the engineers were right. Most people are saying we had 100 mph winds and one report said we had 110 mph winds. Either way, Charley had my attention.

The wind blew so hard it sucked the hatch to the attic into the attic. Pretty neat stuff... Today I took off of work so I could clean up. The house and yard are a mess. We had some friends that live in a mobile home staying with us for the past 2 days. Add that to no power, no water, 2 days of rain and the house looks like we had a three day party.

That's it for now. The schools are closed here all week so the kids are going stir crazy. Kinda like a blizzard up north.

Hopefully we won't have to do this again any time soon,

john

This is GREAT eyewitness reporting!!! Thank you for sharing it, and he's right....the third pig was the smart one *grin*.
Pati

Was off line all weekend, and so I just read through the entire thread. My sister had kids, grandkids, SIL, BIL all in Tampa, Bradenton, and Sarasota. They reported back allright, after much prayer here.

Glad to hear all the good reports, and details on relief efforts. My prayers will continue, this can be a long road of cleanup, recovery, etc. May the God of peace keep you in perfect peace as you trust in Him.

Tamara

I keep seeing posts about massive tree damage, and was reminded of a couple of years ago when we were hit with 46" of snow in March. My 100 year old Elm lost a huge section and it came down on a fence. My insurance agent informed me that "landscape" wasn't covered on my policy. She would replace the sections of fence if they were over my deductible, (which of course they weren't) but the cost of removal of the tree limbs wasn't covered! I had to remove the tree before they would fix the fence.

I am worried about what people will do if this is a common situation in Florida? Many people will not have the resources to pay for that, and if they are elderly they aren't able to do it themselves as we did.

I ahven't been keeping track (another family emergency)... has everyone checked in yet? Anyone know?

Can we breathe a sigh of relief, at least temporarily, for Earl??

DaleP6 posted this in another forum... yesterday, I think: (Dale, forgive me but I made paragraph breaks and some emphasis on your slogan so it would be easier to read.)

I was preparing to evacuate (mandatory). My storm shutters were up, my favorite plants inside, my dog in the car. After a frantic two days I pulled out of the driveway, never knowing if I'd see any of it again. I was as calm as one can be but when they changed the storm from a category 2 to a 4, I was so tired, running on adrenalin, I sat down and cried. I didn't know what to pray for...not for it to go somewhere else and devastate them. So I just told Him that he had a plan and for a reason and ate a PB and J sandwich.

It was heading directly for our island and at the last hour, literally, it took a small jog and missed us by going into Charlotte County. We then would be spared the damage as well as the tidal surge. If it had gone in at Tampa, we whould have had a terrible tital surge and things would be flooded, but not knocked down by the winds. But where it hit, it was supposed to go right up the coast which would have been the wost for the whole area. But it stayed on its path and headed to the center of the state. We were spared completely. Why?

We now have a campaign "The Storm that was supposed to be ours wasn't, so we will send you our storm supplies." And today to add insult to injury, it poured rain with lightning and thunder over these poor folks. We all learned after Andrew that we have to wait a week or so before sending supplies or money. There is no hierarchy in place to manage, sirt, distribute what is needed, so much of what was donated to the victims of Andrew,,,blankets,,,clothes,,,sheets,,,sat out in the weather and was ruined. Let them have a few days to shake off the cloud and get back into reality so our donations can be used to the best of their abilities.

I know we are not supposed to advertise here, but I urge you to send a check to the National Red Cross. These people are sitting begging for ice and water. Many of them elderly who had found paradise to live out their golden years and there is nothing left. I was so lucky and can't stop thanking God...now is the time to get up and do something constructive for those so badly injured,,,mentally and financially,,,please join me.

25 miles...25 miles is all it took for me to be sitting in a cool room typing on my computer. It is in the 90's now with mosquitoes galore...a five dollar check could buy bug spray so badly needed. Thanks!

Darius/DaleP6, Great posting!! Thank you for writing it, and thanks to Darius for sending it to this forum. There are things needed that we take so for granted we never thing about them. One of the pictures forever in my mind is five days after Andrew at Cutler Ridge Mall when the first big trucks got there with water. There were HUNDREDS of people standing in the blazing hot sun on the black asphalt parking lot. Mothers with babies, little children and many elderly people...waiting for hours for their turn to get two gallons of water. Two days later so many of these same people were trying to sleep in houses with little roofs left to keep out the torrential rains that struck. Can you imagine how better both these situations would have been if someone had just thought to hand out unbrellas?
Pati

Thanks Dale/Darius. Though Isabel was no where near as big as Charley... I still remember the helpless, hopeless feelings. No power, no water, no food, no where else to go, etc. I hope theres plenty of help available for everyone. There sure wasn't for us. I feel for all those that were in his path.

Has all of our DG family checked in?

Hugs to all!

Jody, I think there are still some that haven't checked in... but still 800,000 people without power as of this afternoon.

My families (3) in Orlando still have no power that I know of....

I hope you can get through to them soon Connie.....it must be awful not knowing how they are getting along.

we talked to them, phone but no power, just no word today...they are fine and all is well, it is just amess with so many peeps down there.

I had to evacuate my beautiful barrier island...Siesta Key. I told myself I was as prepared as I could be. My favorite plants were inside, storm shutters up, some possessions in plastic tubs and sealed. Pots and garden ornaments were stowed and anything that didn't have a place was shoved in the house. My dog who doesn't leave my side usually was under the bed. Got her in the car, turned to my house and told it goodbye; I would be back. I t was a category 2 then which is no afternoon storm, but I'd been through a 2 before. Got settled into the motel and turned on the TV and it was now a category 4. Dead tired, adrenalin waning, really frightened now, I sat down and had a cry and then ate a PB&J sandwich. There were many elderly evacuees there and I told them to get a good game of dominoes going...I had brough the dominoes...so that helped them from so much worry. And then you sit and switch from channel to channel hoping one will have bette news. It was heading to south of Tampa...guess what? That's Sarasota and my island is off its coast. I kept telling myself that you can repurchase material posessions, but I had my beloved dog and we were safe for the moment. I believed this part of the time...but other times I just couldn't be so cavalier. And I didn't know how to pray...pray that if moves on up or down the coast and devastate them and not us? Make a miracle and send it out in the water to spin around and lose its ump. I finally told Him that it was in His hand and He had a plan which I wasn't supposed to understand and tried to get some sleep. Friday was much of the same, staring at maps you'd seen forever hoping againse hope some miracle WOULD happen, but knowing it would not. Now it took a slight jog and went in at Port Charlotte...we were saved. If it had gone in to Tampa Bay we would have had a 10-14 foot storm surge which would have put the island under water. Driving home back over the bridge I thanked Gad again and almost threw up...tension from the past days and guilt that we were perfectly fine. I could do dome work outside and come in and sit down to cool off. They are walking the streets to get water and ice. People were SELLING ice at $7 a bag! The gauger carpet baggers are sneaking in...Hey! Fix your roof lady...have it done by tomorrow...takes this old ladie's money and is gone for supplies and never comes back. Red Cross is ready now for donations. Too much, too soon when Andrew hit sat and got rained on for they had no place to store it let alone a way to distribute it. If we each gave $5 it certainly would add up. With this not even being the peak of the hurricane season, Red Cross is scared about not being able to meet their needs. Mosquitoes are out in full force, it;'s in the 90's and these folks don't have a roof! They've lost all methods of living in any comfortable way,,,trying to find a place to go to the bathroom, take a shower. Most of these people had found their paradise, and lived here on a fixed income. Let's do what we can by sending a donation to our Red Cross. I know I will. 25 miles...that's all it was...a 25 mile jog or you would be seeing me in these pictures of the storm. And I am so glad all the other DG'ers are accounted for!

As far as hurricanes are concerned, all my life, I've felt as if I lived in an area with a big bull's-eye over my area. The state has had a few bad hits and I am old enough to remember Betsy in 1965. The aftermath was NOT nice, but at least we had our house intact.

What about people who lose EVERYTHING? Whose houses are totally destroyed down to the foundation and who may not have insurance? Where do they go? They can't just wander the streets, can they? Surely there is some agency to help them not only get immediate relief/shelter/food/water, but to find someplace to call home? Does anyone know?

Oh, my. It's beautiful where you guys live down south, but I couldn't deal with the uncertainty of the weather. Hats off to all of you who love your land and stick around!

So glad to see all of you posting. Hope power is restored for you ASAP. Great idea on the Red Cross suggestion, least I can do to help. We've not always had the greatest weather here in West MD, but at least buried in between these mountains, we generally don't have to worry about extreme conditions.

Great posting dalep6. When Hurricane Andrew came through, FEMA was a new agency and just didn't have enough experience to handle anything on that scale. They learned their lessons then, and it's paying off now for Charley. The 82nd Airborn (God bless them) came in and set up a tent city and field kitchens and guarded us until Fema and the National Guard got in place. FEMA brought in hundreds of trailers and set up on the huge parking lot around the Zoo. I hope they bring the trailers here. My daughter in Bartow is heading out to one of the MASH medical units they have set up to get treatment for an ongoing back problem. She had a broken neck in an auto accident and has several vertebra replaced. Needs antibiotics for inflamed nerves.

My daughter is in Sarasota now. Red Cross disaster fund raiser. She said her office in Stuart received $12,000.00 yesterday. It's going to take MILLIONS to get through this.
Pati

Sweetpea, when my brother was flooded out, Red Cross stepped in and gave him vouchers for a house to rent, furniture and clothing to replace what they had lost. That bum ended up with better things than he had lost. I don't know how they will handle it on so much larger a scale though. Tremendous amount of loss. Did you all see the insurance estimates? Wow.

Louisiana Sweet Pea...To answer your question, my sister and her family literally lost everything but the clothes on their back in Hurricane Andrew. She had friends that offered her and her family a condo in Winterhaven so they would have a place to stay. They had no furniture, dishes, clothes, NOTHING. Yes, they had insurance but it took insurance over 9 months to come through with a check and just this past June, 12 YEARS LATER, did she get a settlement for her property. It STILL looks like a war zone where she lived 12 years ago. Well, I know friends and family donated basic furniture. My mom and I went shopping. I mean, just look in your kitchen drawers at all the stuff. Where to begin. But we bought them cookware, dishes, a grill, things you would buy for a bridal shower, etc. It took my sister years before she would buy "pretty" things like pictures, knick-knack type stuff bc she was afraid it would all be blown away. I think it takes a long time to rebuild your life and I'm not sure you ever get over it.

Thanks Terre_ and vic. I couldn't even imagine what I would do if I were left sitting on the empty lot where my house had once been. I know that the really important thing would be to still be alive, but where to start over?

vic, that's such a shame about how the insurance company handled your sister's loss. They should be ashamed of themselves! And I can understand her reluctance to purchase 'pretties' because the sanctity of her home had been violated and she will always be aware of how easily everything can be lost. I hope she continues to heal.

Again, thanks for your replies.

They say over 22,000 requests for emergency housing vouchers have already been received so far.

I guess the price of framing lumber, plywood, insulation and sheetrock has doubled already. The rest of the country, at least the east/southeast, will have some shortages regardless of the prices. I was building a 2 story addition for my mother in NC after Andrew and there was NO insulation to be had. Held up finishing the interior for months.

Gosh, Vic... having the offer of a condo for them was surely nice... but I guess that also meant the move would nullify their jobs (if there were any businesses still operating after Andrew) for some income. I guess it really was starting over from scratch. Poor babies.

I've been in some really tough spots but NOT that tough. Lost everything I owned once but at least I had a job and easily found a place to stay.

I thought after I hit the send button that I didn't finish or tell the whole story. When Andrew hit, my sister was/is a paralegal and office manager in a law firm. Her husband built rods for deep sea fishing. The law office was blown to smithereens but it was one of the attorneys she worked for that had the condos up in Winterhaven. I have no idea how things are done now but back then, copies of everything in the law office were sent to bank vaults in different parts of the country on a weekly basis. Think about it...all records were blown away. Darius, don't even get me started on building materials, the lack of, and the ridiculous prices.

This whole price gouging thing really gets my hackles up. It is unfortunate that there is not some kind of universal law in place (I know dream on) that would prohibit vendors both legal and illegal from charging outrageous prices the necessities required to rebuild.
During our really bad Ice Storm here in 1998 the price of generators went up as much as 6 times in price what they were worth. And of course those who couldn't/wouldn't buy one just stole them from their neighbours. Learned a lesson from that, yes we own our own generator now but also keep some extra 2X4's and 3 sheets of 4X8 sheets of aspenite in a shed, plus several rolls of duct tape.
My heart just aches for these people - having to go through such physical and emotional stress then be taken advantage of.
Quite inspired by many of the stories I have heard.
Dianne

Continued prayers for all affected.... :(

Gosh Vic, when you think of it in terms of 'open your kitchen drawers' it puts a whole new perspective on it.

I;ve spent the last 2 days trying to convince big corporations not to call emergency service calls into damaged areas.We tell them there are some areas we can't even get to. We sell and maintain Toshiba business telephone systems and of course all companies want to have contact with their offices and stores...no power, no phone systems. Even cellular is affected in some areas. Bell South in Daytona is only giving September as a date to have dial tone restored. All in all folks have been pretty good.

As far as price gouging, it is illegal and the airwaves have repeatedly told us this and asked folks to report any suspected price gouging to authorities, that these people will be prosecuted.

I must say, I will never be lacksadaisical about a hurricane again, not ever!