Praying for those facing 2022 hurricane season

denice

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Cuba has asked the U.S. for help. You know things are desperate for them. Right after Ian went though the whole island lost power. People have started protesting the power still being out.
 

iPappy

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I'm about to head out for my cat care shift at the rescue and, based on the map, it looks like the power might be out there. They have a plan in place, though, as long as I can get there okay. I don't think there's any flooding or trees down in the path I take, but I'll bet the stop lights are out. Hopefully won't be a lot of people out and about yet at 8:20 Saturday morning.

Husband and I were talking about evacuating and we wouldn't if it meant leaving our cats. One of the saddest things I remember about Katrina is not allowing people to bring their pets with them. It was heartbreaking.
Our city had a really bad flood 15 years ago. People near the river were told to evacuate, and most left their pets at home. They were told they would be able to return in a day or so...didn't happen. I remember one person absolutely distraught because their small dog drowned in his home. Nowhere for him to go and the water was just too high. Nope, I couldn't evacuate and leave them behind. Look at what happened to pets during the Fukushima disaster. :(
 

denice

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I saw a couple of women in Florida who went and got some floatation devices to go back and get their dogs out of their house. It looked like maybe waist deep water, if they had a second story and the house was still standing the dogs should have survived. I saw a couple of retired women who only was able to save their dog and their minivan. They drove inland a few miles and rode out the storm in a parking garage. They lived in a mobile home, so they lost everything else. There were a lot of mobile home parks destroyed.
 

iPappy

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I saw a news clip of someone leading a Doberman out of their house, and the dogs head was barely above water. Someone else had a Golden Retriever they carried to a vehicle. A man was leading an elderly woman out of her house, and it was mid-thigh high on her, but the more they walked the more the water went up towards her waist. She was visibly surprised :( I can't imagine losing everything, just like that (or, worse.) It makes me wonder if outdoor pets/ferals manage to survive something like that. :(
 

MoochNNoodles

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The parents of an acquaintance from high school lost their roof to the ceiling joists over their livingroom and maybe the kitchen. She shared one picture so it was hard to judge but it looks like they live on a canal. She said their boat was upside down in the canal. Fortunately they had evacuated with another neighbor.

And one beautiful blessing was another one of our classmates who lives closer heard and got in touch and brought her parents a generator, gas and fans. He and his family had made out ok living farther inland so he went to help them. I can’t imagine how that feels in a time like this.
 

catsknowme

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Hurricane Ian flooded Florida, and climate change only made it worse (usatoday.com)

Some say better planning could have improved things, but I'm not sure that's the case. How do you plan for floods in a place that's one low plain, barely above sea level?
The best planning would be to educate potential buyers of the risks associated with living in that area. Some states and areas of states are prone to reject strict building codes until it is too late. As for the mother with a sick child in the story, unless she had a prescription for antibiotics/antiviral from a doctor, going to the pharmacy is pointless if she has a properly stocked medicine cabinet (children's Tylenol, Tylenol and NSAIDs).
It's pretty hard to defy geophysics and climate change while keeping building costs affordable.
Find your state's sea level rise - Sea Level Rise
 
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doomsdave

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The best planning would be to educate potential buyers of the risks associated with living in that area. Some states and areas of states are prone to reject strict building codes until it is too late. As for the mother with a sick child in the story, unless she had a prescription for antibiotics/antiviral from a doctor, going to the pharmacy is pointless if she has a properly stocked medicine cabinet (children's Tylenol, Tylenol and NSAIDs).
It's pretty hard to defy geophysics and climate change while keeping building costs affordable.
Find your state's sea level rise - Sea Level Rise
Having had to manage meds, I can say that it's not always possible to plan for all contingencies regarding them, as I just re-learned last week. I almost ran out of a med because some moron at the doctor's office sent the wrong prescription.

That said, this century plus of disasters makes one wonder about the wisdom of living in a place like Florida. Though, you can say the same thing about Kansas, Texas, etc. etc. with their weather disasters too.

Then there's the Big One here in California, or The Really Big One in the Pacific Northwest.
 

MoochNNoodles

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Back in 2006 DH and I did a boat tour in the Everglades and I remember the operator saying that some people believe Florida was never really meant to be inhabited. That was after they’d gotten 4 hurricanes in one season and we saw so many blue tarped roofs flying into Miami. He was saying how they grow trees to make some land suitable for future building. And with how many hurricanes pass over them and the wetlands; it’s likely true to some extent.
 
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doomsdave

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DeSantis, FEMA defend Lee County evacuation amid growing questions

Now the second-guessing and finger pointing begin.

I'm not a fan of Gov. Di Santis, but this was a very difficult case.

I had thought of moving to Florida one of these days, but I'm not so sure any more. Where are you going to run to? How big of a stockpile of stuff do you keep, in particular, important medications, if you or a loved one needs them? And, the more kitties or doggies you have, the less possible it gets, too.

It seems that if you're going to evacuate you shouldn't wait for the order once the storm's power and path become apparent.

That said, I'm a clueless Californian, and I'd like to hear from those who live in the Hurricane Belt.
 

MoochNNoodles

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There is always finger pointing and second guessing. I have noticed though; since 2020 people are both more and less reactive to warnings. My cousin described it as a numbness when a big one came their way. Some people still move to over-prepare and hoard. Some are just unreactive. Even hearing the forecasts ahead of time left me surprised at this one.

We get the occasional one where I am at. I'm not a fan. A week or two of supplies has been what most people do. A friend from high school has been in Florida for 20 years and he said he isn't phased by them anymore. He's also more inland though. He also lives in a condo and doesn't have kids or pets. Another friend has a big family but doesn't seem more phased than we might be preparing for a blizzard.

DH's grandma used to tell a story about sitting on her kitchen table with fruit floating by as a child because the house had flooded. Her parents grew and shipped "fancy citrus fruits" in what is now Wes Palm Beach area I believe. Not as far south as Miami. Of course that was before Florida was as populated. FIL was raised near there and MIL spent her teen years in Tampa but neither tell big hurricane stories. I should ask if they were just part of life or just different from what we get now; according to their memories.
 
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doomsdave

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Here's a bridge to devastated Pine Island

1664936030170.png
 

denice

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They have gotten it down to 321,000 without power, it was over 2 million at its peak. Those 300,000 are probably in the areas that are completely destroyed.
 
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