Question for fellow hurricane watchers

[zibazinski]

Well, I’m looking at Ian and not liking what I see and a friend actually asked me to watch her dog overnight on Tuesday. Um, I’m getting out of Tampa. Without your dog.

[Blonde Granny]

My brother and his family live in Fort Myers......and I know you Zib, time will tell.

[swamp]

My sister lives in the Tampa area.    

[NoNamePerson]

Not in Florida but know enough to pay attention since Hurricanes' have been know to change course in a heartbeat. 


swamp and Blonde Granny and zibazinski keep us posted if you are able. We worry about our cyber friends and their families!

[tallguy]

I'm just glad this one is hitting now.  Hurricane season runs to about the end of November.  GF and I will be down there early that month.  I'd rather have any damage cleaned up before I get there rather than be right in it.

[djAdvocate]

Sept 27, 2022 7:59:02 GMT -5 swamp said:

My sister lives in the Tampa area.    

i also have family in Florida.  grand niece.

[djAdvocate]

Sept 27, 2022 10:10:11 GMT -5 tallguy said:

I'm just glad this one is hitting now.  Hurricane season runs to about the end of November.  GF and I will be down there early that month.  I'd rather have any damage cleaned up before I get there rather than be right in it.

i have not been to Florida in decades.
i won't be going back any time soon, i don't think.

[busymom]

DH & I had hoped to go back & visit our old neighbors later this year, IF Covid settled down.  Now I'm wondering what sort of damage they may be dealing with.  Not liking the forecast for storm surge, winds, nor the amount of rain they may get.  

[tallguy]

Sept 27, 2022 10:17:01 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

Sept 27, 2022 10:10:11 GMT -5 tallguy said:

I'm just glad this one is hitting now.  Hurricane season runs to about the end of November.  GF and I will be down there early that month.  I'd rather have any damage cleaned up before I get there rather than be right in it.

i have not been to Florida in decades.
i won't be going back any time soon, i don't think.

When my GF was thinking about buying a house down there, she actually talked to a weather person to ask about the risk of hurricanes.  Where she ended up is because there is a much lower risk there than in other parts of the state.  She is also several miles inland rather than right on the coast.  Close enough to get to beaches easily but far enough to be safe from things like storm surge.  Once in a hundred years is pretty low risk. 

[Tiny]

Update on the original issue for this thread:   I'm not the only one who's noticed the relative is a little erratic in their thinking (in more than just the weather).      Concerns have now been voiced to those closest to the relative.        those of us who noticed are the people who talk to the relative infrequently (so maybe once every month or two).       


Growing old is not for the feint of heart.   Caring for the elderly is not for the feint of heart.   

     

[Tiny]

And to the Hurricane:    The relatives in Fort Myers are battening down the hatches and anticipating flooding will be the "disaster" rather than wind damage.       Everyone is preparing and cautiously "hoping for the best".   

This is my first "rodeo" with the house I own in Fort Myers (which I've never been to).  It's currently getting it's storm shutters put on.   The house still has older windows (some are original to the house and even the newer ones aren't "hurricane windows").  The house and the subdivision have weathered many a storm (big and small) in the last 45 years.  So I'm hopeful it will just be a disruptive few days with minor damage to property and with a prolonged power outage.     Crossing my fingers for routine flooding and not exceptional flooding.   I'm a little nervous about the house and my tenants (who are life long Floridians) going into the this storm - we're all going thru a hurricane/storm for the first time with this property/house.     

The townhouse I own is further in land and shouldn't be effected by the storm surge (but there still maybe flooding) and will weather the wind without shutters/extra protections.  It too has weathered many a storm (big and small) for 45 years.     It's not my first "rodeo" with this property so I'm cautiously optimistic.    

I know every storm is unique... so you take precautions and do the best you can.      

(on another note - I'm starting to feel really good about NOT having bought a house closer to the coast or the River.  But a little regretful that I didn't buy one further away (like the townhouse).       


Hope everyone in the path of the storm makes good decisions and is prepared and weathers the storm safely.   


  

[Tiny]

Sept 27, 2022 10:34:28 GMT -5 tallguy said:

Sept 27, 2022 10:17:01 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

i have not been to Florida in decades.
i won't be going back any time soon, i don't think.

When my GF was thinking about buying a house down there, she actually talked to a weather person to ask about the risk of hurricanes.  Where she ended up is because there is a much lower risk there than in other parts of the state.  She is also several miles inland rather than right on the coast.  Close enough to get to beaches easily but far enough to be safe from things like storm surge.  Once in a hundred years is pretty low risk. 

Good to hear your GF took into account the hurricane/flood risks when looking at houses/places to live.    

I did the same.    I determined storm surge was a bigger issue than even the wind (you can safe guard a home from the wind).    Hoping I made good decisions with the properties I own in Florida.     

Just an FYI if you want to go down a rabbit hole:    You can also look at the flood plains and other historical storm online info.    Sometimes a tropical storm will cause more flooding damage than a hurricane.     If the house requires flood insurance - you know for sure it's at risk    but it's also helpful to check out the flood plain info.        

And of course,  Florida is flat... so there's always risk of flooding (unless you build on a berm or on stilts.)  even in some of the inland areas.   

And once again I'm asking myself - why would anyone want to build really nice expensive homes in some areas of Florida??  

[djAdvocate]

i don't really trust the once in a hundred year stuff, after being evacuated three times in five years due to "100 year" fires.

[zibazinski]

Sept 27, 2022 7:03:57 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

My brother and his family live in Fort Myers......and I know you Zib, time will tell.

Looks like Ft. Myers is going to be hit.

[busymom]

Sept 27, 2022 11:43:29 GMT -5 djAdvocate said:

i don't really trust the once in a hundred year stuff, after being evacuated three times in five years due to "100 year" fires.

     I agree.  Back in the 80's or early 90's we had one of those "hundred year" thunderstorms, complete with flooding.  I was stuck at work when it hit, and trying to navigate my way back home wasn't fun, with so many roads closed due to water across the roads.  (Yes, I finally made it, but a normally 15-20 minute trip took me over an hour.

[zibazinski]

Anyway I’m three stories up in a newer building with my son and his new WIFE! We are in St Pete, downtown, but not mandatory evacuation. My place in Tampa, next to the water, is in zone A so mandatory evacuation.

[happyhoix]

We’re going to the panhandle next week, towards the Panama City end, but not Panama City - too old for that). By the time we get there Ian will be a storm north of Georgia so it should be ok.

Good thoughts for the people in the path. Hunker down somewhere - don’t be like those poor weather channel reporters who have to stand out in the middle of it to show how windy it is.

[zibazinski]

Tampa Bay got lucky again. Ft. Myers, Sanibel, Captiva, Naples, and surrounding areas did not.

[Tiny]

Fort Myers Beach is under water.       
Cape Coral and  Fort Myers and North Fort Myers are ok so far - but the storm surge up the Caloosahatchee River is yet to happen  

Not to imply that it's not bad all over - the wind and rain (flooding) are doing damage across most of the coast (and I'm guessing the interior and East Coast too).   


Ian is a scary large storm.... 

[tractor]

My 80+ year old aunt lives in Ft Meyers, she was smart enough to evacuate to her sons place in Orlando. We have been told her home was completely underwater, and will likely be a total loss.

My mom is in Lakeland, no word from her yet, but I know she has no power. I did talk with a relative or her neighbor and was told the area had some rain and wind, but nothing severe.

[Tiny]

As of 9pm Central time yesterday - my Fort Myers relatives weren't experiencing flooding. They did have wind damage (fences down, car port damaged, a yard shed blown down).   

Haven't heard anything yet this morning -  the power and cell towers went down last night right around 9pm CST.              

Even WINK tv is down.      


keeping my fingers crossed everyone was high and dry. 

[tallguy]

GF's house is without power, and there is apparently some damage to the lanai.  Waiting to hear today if there is anything more extensive.  Her son's house an hour north is also without power, I believe, and I don't think she was able to reach him yesterday to hear anything else.  I think the family evacuated, but not sure about that.  Fortunate for them both that the storm turned eastward when it did.  They almost certainly escaped more damage.  We'll be able to see for ourselves in a few weeks when we go down there.

ETA:  Apparently the son's house had two trees down in the backyard.  GF's house had some debris (which I'm guessing was branches and the like, but no confirmation.)

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Sept 29, 2022 11:21:19 GMT -5 tractor said:

My 80+ year old aunt lives in Ft Meyers, she was smart enough to evacuate to her sons place in Orlando. We have been told her home was completely underwater, and will likely be a total loss.

My mom is in Lakeland, no word from her yet, but I know she has no power. I did talk with a relative or her neighbor and was told the area had some rain and wind, but nothing severe.

My mom is in Lakeland also. She has no power but I was able to text with her this morning. She and her mobile home are fine. 

My brother in Orlando is also fine as is my DD1 in Jacksonville.

[zibazinski]

We were spared but our southern counties were not.

[Blonde Granny]

I haven't been able to reach my brother, but my son finally told me they had just closed on a unit in Sanibel Island before it hit. Good thing they are still in Lincoln, Ne.

[zibazinski]

Oct 1, 2022 7:06:55 GMT -5 Blonde Granny said:

I haven't been able to reach my brother, but my son finally told me they had just closed on a unit in Sanibel Island before it hit. Good thing they are still in Lincoln, Ne.

I’m so sorry.

[NancysSummerSip]

Sept 25, 2022 0:45:14 GMT -5 weltschmerz said:

Sept 24, 2022 23:18:32 GMT -5 busymom said:

You mean the world doesn't revolve around Florida?  I mean, even Trump owns a place there.  I am SHOCKED I tell you, SHOCKED...  

Funny how the hurricanes never touch Mar-A-Lardo.

I'd prefer the storms did not damage the building, as it is historically landmarked.

Now the orange occupant, on the other hand -- if a tornado happened along, picked him up, spun him around by his hair and dropped him burger-bloated butt first into the Intracoastal, well....I don't think the Secret Service assigned to him would mount a search. They might go raid the fridge for some celebratory bubbly instead.

[busymom]

We've got friends who had just built their retirement home in Port Charlotte.  I saw pics on Facebook earlier this year, and the location was just lovely.  Fortunately, they were here when the storm hit, but haven't heard a peep if their house survived.  The wife is retiring at the end of 2022, and it'd be a bummer to begin your retirement rebuilding your dream.  

[swamp]

My HS friend’s house is gone. Her business is severely damaged. They’ve lost everything

[Tiny]

Oct 2, 2022 10:23:39 GMT -5 swamp said:

My HS friend’s house is gone. Her business is severely damaged. They’ve lost everything

Wow Swamp.  That's pretty much the most feared situation.     It is life changing.    I hope everyone is OK and that they maintain hope for their future.