NationStates Jolt Archive

I live in Punta Gorda, a block off the Peace River, directly in the path of the eye of Hurricane Charley.

Half of my neighbors lost everything, their houses reduced to rubble. Something like 80% of the homes in the county were damaged to some extent, but in my neighborhood it's startlingly close to 100%.

My own house is built of concrete bricks. (good lesson in the three little pigs story!) I had a new roof put on in February, so MOST of my roof held. Nothing aluminum survived. Carport-gone. screen porch-gone, awnings-gone, storage sheds-gone (well, one is still here, wrapped around a tree). But i am very lucky to have a dry house to live in. All the trees over 6 feet tall were knocked over or sheared off. It's an ugly mess.

THen came Frances. Then Ivan, which missed us on its first pass, and went up to pennsylvania before coming back to florida and raining on us for three days-damyou Ivan.

Then Jeanne. HA! Is that all you've got, Mother Nature? We are still standing, still shaking our fists at you

Anyone else want to talk about the hurricanes? Or any other natural disasters they have been through ? What's the worst weather you have ever seen? Anyone been through an earthquake? tornado? flood? locust swarm?

I like how they all missed Cuba and went straight for Florida (the infamous swing state from 2000). God obviously loves Cuba.

I like how they all missed Cuba and went straight for Florida (the infamous swing state from 2000). God obviously loves Cuba.

( Major eye-roll )

( Major eye-roll )

I did not see that one coming.

Anyone else want to talk about the hurricanes? Or any other natural disasters they have been through ? What's the worst weather you have ever seen? Anyone been through an earthquake? tornado? flood? locust swarm?

I was once in the path of a category V hurricane back in Playa del Carmen in... 96, I think. I was working in a resort. The rooms are made to resemble cabanhas with thatched roofs, so most of the roofs were gone, and everything inside was ruined. The rooms themselves were fine as was the main building.

There was some flooding in the city and some people had some property damage. It wasn't too bad because in Mexico houses are built with concrete and bricks (why do people in hurricane and tornado areas in the US build with sticks and cardboard?).

I've had plenty of earthquakes too. Ranging from barely perceptible to 6.0 ~ 6.5 Richter. Mostly a few broken windows and maybe fallen fences and such. I was some 800 km away from Mexico City when the 8.1 quake hit in 85, but it was still felt very strongly.

Cuba WAS hit. by more than one.

your limitation to US news sources is apparent.

Cuba WAS hit. by more than one.

your limitation to US news sources is apparent.

Ivan skirted the North-West but the most intense regions passed by.

I was once in the path of a category V hurricane back in Playa del Carmen in... 96, I think. I was working in a resort. The rooms are made to resemble cabanhas with thatched roofs, so most of the roofs were gone, and everything inside was ruined. The rooms themselves were fine as was the main building.

There was some flooding in the city and some people had some property damage. It wasn't too bad because in Mexico houses are built with concrete and bricks (why do people in hurricane and tornado areas in the US build with sticks and cardboard?).

I've had plenty of earthquakes too. Ranging from barely perceptible to 6.0 ~ 6.5 Richter. Mostly a few broken windows and maybe fallen fences and such. I was some 800 km away from Mexico City when the 8.1 quake hit in 85, but it was still felt very strongly.

Holy moley, a Cat5? I have been through a few Cat 1 and 2s, and one Cat 4. The quantum difference is apparent. I can't even imagine the fury of one stronger than that. Maybe the difference between scared sh*tless and actually whimpering?

And honestly, i think i would prefer hurricanes to earthquakes. Bad enough when the wind gets in an uproar, but the very ground beneath you? No such thing as shelter from that, except maybe an airplane, assuming you were lucky enough to be up in it when the earthquake hits. fat chance.

Ivan skirted the North-West but the most intense regions passed by.
Charley crossed right through the narrow section of the Cuban island.

and believe me, after a direct hit by Charley, the peripheral winds of Ivan that were around 100mph, were still considered a 'hit'. YOu ever been in 100mph winds? still hurricane force. still a hurricane, even though the eye did not touch Cuba.

Charley crossed right through the narrow section of the Cuban island.

and believe me, after a direct hit by Charley, the peripheral winds of Ivan that were around 100mph, were still considered a 'hit'. YOu ever been in 100mph winds? still hurricane force. still a hurricane, even though the eye did not touch Cuba.

Point taken, but it ruins my joke.

God obviously loves Cuba.

No, I think it's probably more likely that Allah is pissed off.. lmao :D

No, I think it's probably more likely that Allah is pissed off.. lmao :D

Eh?

Allah = God.

EDIT: I get it!

Here it is the reverse that is the problem.

There has not been proper rainfall for months. The dams are down to 40% of capacity.

And unless it rains 50mm, every day for a week, it's not going to be over.

Holy moley, a Cat5? I have been through a few Cat 1 and 2s, and one Cat 4. The quantum difference is apparent. I can't even imagine the fury of one stronger than that. Maybe the difference between scared sh*tless and actually whimpering?


It is very impressive. Really makes you feel small. We spent most of the time (certainly during the strongest bits), holed up inside the main building with the tourists who had chosen to stay. The eye came right over us that time. We had about ten minutes of very eery calm with an awesome sight of the monstruous storm moving all around us.

The the wind starts blowing from the opposite direction, which is more dangerous because of all the things that were loosened before.


And honestly, i think i would prefer hurricanes to earthquakes. Bad enough when the wind gets in an uproar, but the very ground beneath you? No such thing as shelter from that, except maybe an airplane, assuming you were lucky enough to be up in it when the earthquake hits. fat chance.

Well, just stay away from any windows, if it gets bad look for a door frame, firm structure, or heavy desk to scurry under and enjoy the ride. If you are outdoors, get away from electricity poles and cables that may fall. A tree with deep roots is your best friend in this case.

Of course, if it goes above 8.5 all bets are off.

Anyone else want to talk about the hurricanes? Or any other natural disasters they have been through ? What's the worst weather you have ever seen? Anyone been through an earthquake? tornado? flood? locust swarm?

Hurricanes: Alicia in 1983 (Cat. 3)
Typhoons: Lost count exactly - at least 2 directly over Osaka in the last 10 years, many more passing nearby (including a close enough miss earlier this that IO got sent home early from work). Maybe 10 near misses?
Floods: A couple of minor ones back home in Texas - no damage to the house.
Earthquakes: Again, too many minor ones to count, plus a handful of moderate ones, and 1 fairly big one - Great Hanshin in 1995 (6000 dead in Kobe and Osaka).

The typhoons never seem to get to the same destructive level as hurricanes. The last big one went through Kobe into the Sea of Japan and then hit Hokkaido. A bit of flooding and some minor wind damage.

Even so, some people manage to get killed in each one. The two memorable cases this year were both back in July. First idiot was a JNSDF (Japanese Navy) officer in Okinawa who went windsurfing while the typhoon was crossing. When the same typhoon hit the Kansai, a couple of idiots down in Wakayama thought it would be ok to have a cook out on a sea wall. All three should be up for Darwin Awards.

Let me think....hmm...I've been through a few natural disasters in my life.

I've been in several tornadoes while in the midwest. I think the worst was an F4 but most were very minor. Nothing like in the movie Twister.

I've been through nearly every hurricane remains to hit the east coast over the last decade, as they all end up in West Virginia eventually and dump tons and tons of rain on us. Some have been worse than others but mostly we end up getting severe flooding and mudslides.

I've been in some really nasty floods. There was one about 6 years ago...can't remember what year. That one was bad. That was the year I discovered the Licking River. That's still a funny name.

I was in a sandstorm while in Iraq. That's just not fun. It was a very minor sandstorm I was told afterwards, but if you've never been in one, it sure doesn't feel minor.

I think the worst has been the blizzards. There have been a few. The one back in the 70's was very bad. Cut us off from civilization for nearly a week. There were a couple in the 90s which weren't fun. But the one back in February 2003 was the worst. The snow would fall, then the temps would warm up to around 34. Then it would drop, causing the melted snow to freeze. Then the rainfall of ice. If you've never been in that, you wouldn't understand. Sheets of ice several inches thick covering everything. Salt doesn't get rid of it. I had to hammer the ice off my car just to get in. My windshield was coated in ice over a foot thick. My car was locked in place because the tires were stuck to the road in ice. Most of the trees in the neighborhood collapsed from the weight. I lost power the 2nd night of that one and didn't get it back for over 2 weeks. I was out cutting up firewood for the fireplace and it didn't burn well because of how wet it was. And my parents called a lot because they were vacationing in Arizona.

Thanks to Daistallia, Iztatepotla, Thunderland and Yammo for your stories.

Thunderland reminded me of my youth in Montana. We had some bad blizzards there, and it's the same pain-in-the-butt campout afterwards (with the difference being either needing heat or ice)...

But i never was so intensely afraid during a blizzard as i was in Charley.

Yammo, Montana is considered desert, with an average annual rainfall of 14 inches. Summer forest fires are a big problem. One year i remember they prohibited all lawn mowing, digging, chainsawing, ANYTHING that could cause a spark, and they were enforcing it, too. (newspaper said "three men cited yesterday for lawn mowing" truth.) So good luck with that.

Iztatepotla, that sounds just like Charley. Just like it. The wind screamed. not howled, not whistled, ...it screamed. I swear i thought there was someone outside my door at first, trying to scream over the storm. But it WAS the storm!

Daistallia...Texas Flood is a great SRV song, but that's beside the point. I rode my bike through three foot of water in Houston, leaving the hedges of RU and trying to get home. I will say this for houston..they have an excellent drainage system. That day it couldnt keep up, but it didn't last long. And i must say that the sheer size of your list makes me feel like i'm not alone, and i'm pretty dang lucky.

THanks you guys, and i look forward to more stories

TM