Hurricane Michael

[Jcatbird]

We survived more or less intact. The town just west of me was hit hard. Florida coast devastated. West Georgia hit hard in some areas. North and Middle Georgia hit by rains and wind. Bands of wind still coming throughhere. The reports say they will end by mid afternoon. Many roads closed here and power outages. My one feral is okay. His shelter is totally intact. He won’t come out yet but I expect he will when the winds stop. Prayers continue for all. Storm continues to travel across S.C. and N.C..

 

[MoochNNoodles]

I'm glad to hear your ok. I need to check in with a friend in west Georgia.

 

[catsknowme]

JCATBIRD is SAFE!!!
any word from 8Kitties or Lil Dude, anyone?

 

[Shane Kent]

Jcatbird So sad to read about the Florida coast but have to say I am very relieved that you and BJ are OK. I have been thinking about you since last night and seeing your post made me extremely happy. Hope and prayers for those who have yet to endure the storm.

 

[Furballsmom]

Jcatbird oh thank goodness for you!!

 

[Mamanyt1953]

SO thankful that Jcatbird and her babies are safe and sound! Things are not bad here in Havelock, thank goodness. Pretty stiff wind and occasion brief bursts of hard rain, but NOTHING like it could have been. I did bring in my lightweight little plastic table (left the metal chair) and my wreath, and tossed a couple of gallon jugs of water into the Secret Feral Shelter, then shoved the opening up flat against the outside wall so the wind can't catch it. I fed lunch as usual, so everyone ate once, but am NOT going to feed tonight. I doubt my babies are out and about in this, and I'm afraid that their dishes would end up in the next county! Hekitty remains calm and relaxed, so nothing dire is near.

BUT OH! Panama City Beach, where I did most of my growing up, is just destroyed.

 

[foxden]

I just heard from @Lil Dude
Power is out, but the storm did not do a lot of damage there.

 

[misty8723]

It's raining here in central NC. We expect 4 inches of rain and 40+ mile an hour winds. But its moving fast and should be out of here by evening.

Was a lot of rain for a while and gusting winds, but it seems to have gone through pretty quickly. Seems to be pretty calm out there now, from what I can hear (too dark to see). Saw a lot of tree limbs down on our travels last evening.

 

[Boris Diamond]

Bunches of little branches down here. My rain gauge measured 4 inches. Lost power at 2:45 PM. About half a million lost power in NC, 30,000 in my county. Noticed some things.

• Stars are incredible when there is less light pollution.
• Leonid's purr is really cute! I feel it when i touch him, but the absolute quiet of no power - no fans, dehumidifiers or cat fountains running - made it easy to hear that little guy purr! I'm going to shut everything down every once in a while just so I can hear that sweet noise.
• Calling the power company to report your outage can speed your repair waiting time. I could not reach the power company all day, but when I did reach them and report the outage, a repair truck showed up in less than an hour. While I can't prove cause and effect, I don't think it was coincidental. It took them two hours and power was back on at 4 AM.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

I lost power for a little while last night, but not for long.

Heard that the ex's parents are ok, but their house (which was lovely) is just...toast. They are in their 70s, and starting over will be a real trial for them.

Downtown Panama City, just blocks from where I lived as a small child, before we moved to the beach:

Mom and I used to walk to the Martin Theater, seen there on the corner (next to the guy with his hands on his head), to matinee movies often during the summer because way back then, it was one of the few air conditioned buildings in town.

 

[Margret]

So glad that so far everyone here seems to have made it through safely; still waiting to find out what the final death toll and property damage will be. Mamanyt1953 , so sorry to hear about you former in-laws; losing their home must be devastating to them.

Stars are incredible when there is less light pollution.

Oh yeah! We used to drive to Kansas every August for Roger's Great Aunt Jessie's birthday. One year during a heat wave we were having trouble with the car vapor locking, so we ended up driving through Kansas very slowly, all in the middle of the night, during the Perseids. Only car on the road, no towns anywhere around, the only light pollution our own headlights, and all those wonderful meteors! I wouldn't have missed it for anything!


Margret

 

[catsknowme]

April Carpenter (in GA) is okay, just dealing with no electricity therefore no AC nor running water.
Margret : what an awesome experience seeing the Perseids! Growing up rural in the high country in CA, the sky was always a main source of entertainment.
Mamanyt1953 : I am saddened about all the destruction of homes from the terrible storm, especially for those who lived at their long-time homes (as opposed to folks who are not attached to the piece of land where they reside). At an advanced age, rebuilding is often overwhelming. I am stressed enough at 62 with dealing with finding someone to replace the sewer lines!

 

[rgwanner]

I am just praying for everyone in the path. South GA got hit bad - I read that the peanut and cotton crops are devastated. That means all the farmers lost their income for the year.

SC,GA and FL will need help for a long time. I just hope everyone is safe.
In Atlanta we just got needed rain.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

Between Florence and Michael, the entire Southeast is pretty much torn to shreds. And the Gulf Coast of Florida is almost totally dependent on the tourist trade, which will be shot for the next year or so.

 

[denice]

We went to Panama City when I was a young child. I only have those little disjointed fragments of memories about it. I do remember the white sand. Mom said the first time I saw it I thought it had snowed.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

denice , we moved there from Anchorage, Alaska. My first words in Panama City Beach were, "OOOH! I see we have snow." The Chamber of Commerce, years and years ago, used to package little packets of sand to give out at luncheons on marketing junkets, and had to change that because people kept dumping the sand in their coffee. thinking it was sugar.

 

[aliceneko]

I hope that everyone in affected and nearby areas stay safe! Keep warm

 

[margecat]

I lost power for a little while last night, but not for long.

Heard that the ex's parents are ok, but their house (which was lovely) is just...toast. They are in their 70s, and starting over will be a real trial for them.

Downtown Panama City, just blocks from where I lived as a small child, before we moved to the beach:

Mom and I used to walk to the Martin Theater, seen there on the corner (next to the guy with his hands on his head), to matinee movies often during the summer because way back then, it was one of the few air conditioned buildings in town.

I'm so sorry to hear about your ex-in-laws' house. At least they are ok.

 

[catsknowme]

I am just praying for everyone in the path. South GA got hit bad - I read that the peanut and cotton crops are devastated. That means all the farmers lost their income for the year.

That is terrible to hear. I hope that USDA will compensate them. I worry for the dependent industries' workers that will be affected, from the ag workers to the truckers to the peanut butter jar manufacturers and the textile industries.
My handyman is a Katrina survivor who lost his RV repair and sales business in LA. The fed gave him less than a thousand dollars, the insurance wouldn't pay & the Salvation Army had to find a sponsor (ironically, my dad) to relocate him to CA. Until then, I was ignorantly comfortable that the US government gave good disaster relief

 

[Mamanyt1953]

SIGH...they give SOMETHING. But to be utterly fair, when hundreds of thousands of people are affected, there's just so much that ANY entity, even one as large as our government can do. I hate that but it is true. Now, do I think that they can often do better, and that things are just as often mismanaged? Oh yes.