Hurricane Charley -- plz keep FL in your prayers!

[cleo]

As you may know, the Tampa Bay area is in the crosshairs of Hurricane Charley, which is slated to be Category 3 when it comes onshore tomorrow evening. Over 800,000 people have already been evacuated, and this has the potential to be "the big one" we've managed to dodge for years. Please keep us Tampa Bay area MR members, and our whole area, in your thoughts and prayers.

(BTW: The last Category 3 hurricane to directly hit this area was in 1921.)

[3rdpath]

good to hear from you cleo. i'll send some good thoughts your way.

stay safe. and let us know you're ok after the storm passes.

[wdlove]

I pray that you will be safe and sound cleo. My thoughts are with all our MacRumors members in the path of Bonnie and Charlie. Please listen to what your local emergency personnel request of you and your family.

[bousozoku]

I think cleo, medea, and zync are those who will be first affected. It's totally possible that those of us more toward the Atlantic coast will also be floating in a couple of days.

If there is a good side to all this, it might help with the drought we've had for years. I'm looking forward to a green lawn. :D

[medea]

Yes we expect some serious rainfall and flooding at least, any other damage is hard to predict right now, depends on how north it hits.

[cleo]

The rainfall, unlike most summers when its sorely needed, i definitely going to cause problems -- Pinellas County (where I live) is already 15" above normal for the month this year. The ground is simply saturated, so this 4-8" of rain they're promising -- who knows where that will go. And if the storm surge is as bad as predicted it will literally put downtown Tampa underwater. I've lived here my whole life (well, since I was 2, which is about as close to being a native as you find) and I've never seen anything like this. Usually the newscasters have this kind of "Yay! Excitement!" glint in their eye as a (small) storm approaches, but now they literally look like they want to cry.

If you're interested in seeing how the preparations go, check out TBO.com (http://tbo.com/), which is the joint site for our local NBC affiliate and the Tampa Tribune (gotta love media consolidation).

medea, where are you?

[bousozoku]

The trouble is that the water isn't making it back to the Aquifer, where it belongs. Maybe, this will help.

Stay safe! If your life raft comes this way, don't forget to wave. ;)

[jsw]

Best of luck. Leave if it's safer. It's sobering to think that the weather forecasters are looking sad - you're right, they're usually excited, and it usually turns out to be nothing.

Please try to make sure that water-damageable items are safely covered, in plastic bins, etc. We had a small flood in our basement this spring, and it's amazing what water will soak into. Hopefully, you'll be spared 100%. We'll be thinking of you - and everyone in the path.

[winwintoo]

I hope the Stanley Cup is in a safe place ;)

But seriously, I'll be praying for you.

m

[bousozoku]

According to the constant weather reports, Charley is going to make landfall slightly south of Tampa. It makes it sound a little better but the storm swells are expected to be 10-15 feet high. That's quite a lot of water.

Hopefully, the afternoon won't be as difficult as it's supposed to be.

[job]

Hope everyone over there stays safe and keeps their head down.

It's odd though, since here in Texas surfers are enjoying the waves that Charley has been pushing in our direction.

[Awimoway]

My wife's grandparents live in the Sanibel/Ft. Myers area. Their retirement community has a special hurricane shelter, but I'm not sure if it makes me feel better or worse to know they'll be at the heart of the action, shelter notwithstanding. It might have been better if they'd just evacuated. They're right on the banks of the Calloosahatchee River, near its mouth, and apparently the rivers could get an even nastier storm surge than the beaches (according to The Weather Channel).

It's a beautiful area, and I'd hate to see anything happen to it.

Everyone down there is definitely in my prayers. :(

[medea]

(well, since I was 2, which is about as close to being a native as you find)

medea, where are you?

I'm actually a Florida native. I was born in Miami and I currently live in Fort Myers.
It's too bad, we were going to come up to Tampa this weekend to see Mitch Hedberg heh.

Oh and lovely avatar, quite appropriate.

[cleo]

So yes, the 11 AM advisory showed a slight wobble to the east, coming onshore around Sarasota (which is just south of the mouth of the Bay). However, because the storm is really headed mostly north, it may just kind of skip along the coast for a while. At this point severe storm surge (10-14' with up to 6' of waves on top) is pretty much a given. Downtown Tampa is built right on the edge of the bay, and there's a ton of underground wiring for the electricity grid, and so they cut off electricity to downtown as well as two islands that have (really f'ing expensive) residential developments on them.

My family lives, luckily, on a bluff that is 24' above sea level and so we're in a non-evacuation zone (in Pinellas County). Our house was just built 10 years ago and my dad built it (he's a civil engineer), so it's really tough. He's just now putting the final touches on the plywood (we have an open Florida-style floorplan, so we have no "interior room" to hide out in except the laundry room), and we have all our supplies ready (including plenty of alcohol for those who take it and anti-anxiety meds for me). We have some family friends, an eldery couple who live on the water, who are here with us, plus my grandma who just happens to be vacationing... so at some point tonight we'll have 7 humans, a golden retriever (my service dog), a 14-year-old little dog, and 2 very cranky cats stuffed into the laundry room for a few hours.

And, of course, my iPod and iBooks (I'll be writing updates for my blog (http://dalqe.com) that I'll post when electricity is available).

This is really terrifying. I prayed last night for the first time in 3 years.


Oh and lovely avatar, quite appropriate.


Thank you :) They don't call me the Grand Avatarist for nuthin'!

[bousozoku]

My wife's grandparents live in the Sanibel/Ft. Myers area. Their retirement community has a special hurricane shelter, but I'm not sure if it makes me feel better or worse to know they'll be at the heart of the action, shelter notwithstanding. It might have been better if they'd just evacuated. They're right on the banks of the Calloosahatchee River, near its mouth, and apparently the rivers could get an even nastier storm surge than the beaches (according to The Weather Channel).

It's a beautiful area, and I'd hate to see anything happen to it.

Everyone down there is definitely in my prayers. :(

At least, by getting hit first, it ends the anxiety about when the storm will arrive. They could also have repairs done before others need them. :)

[Archaeopteryx]

For the past few years, every year, during hurricane season the area of Texas where I live has been "about to be hit" by a hurricane.. every one does the whole buying canned stuff jug water and candles... and like clockwork.. every year the hurricane turns north at the very last possible minute...

In fact The last hurrican I recall was probably over 10 years ago...

[cleo]

The 2 PM advisory has the storm projected to come onshore around Charlotte Harbor, which is just north of Ft. Myers.

medea, hang in there...

[Geetar]

We're here in Sarasota (between Tampa and Fort Myers) on the 15th floor of a big condo block looking straight out onto the Bay and Longboat Key. The upper edge of the eye is heading more or less straight at us.

This has got us a little worried, as you might imagine.

[cleo]

Oh jeeze, Geet... you need to find a "safe room," and fast! Our prayers are with you...

[Geetar]

Looks like it may go Force 4...............

[Awimoway]

Cat 4, 145 mph winds. Landfall now looks to be between Cape Coral and Punta Gorda. Perhaps a direct hit on Sanibel. That's where my wife and I honeymooned.

[Geetar]

Shifting North.....Port Charlotte landfall?

Here it comes, looks like it's pushing right into Charlotte harbor.

[bousozoku]

They're telling us around Orlando that we're probably going to get category 1 or 2-force winds. They're also saying that the strongest effect should hit about 8 p.m. tonight.

[Raid]

I hope everyone down in FLA will stay safe. For those who are staying behind I'm sure it will be a rush. Storms like this one are both awe inspiring and deadly! :eek: So keep safe guys and if you can see the waves getting higher, I hope you can find the humor of the situation to say "Hey I thought Charlie didn't surf" :)

[csubear]

They're telling us around Orlando that we're probably going to get category 1 or 2-force winds. They're also saying that the strongest effect should hit about 8 p.m. tonight.

how is it in orland. I have in-laws in wintergarden, and they are not leaving(i think they where told to leave). I'm in ohio, so i don't know how these things go.

[bousozoku]

how is it in orland. I have in-laws in wintergarden, and they are not leaving(i think they where told to leave). I'm in ohio, so i don't know how these things go.

It's pretty quiet right now. It should make itself known to them around 10 - 11 p.m. tonight, if we're to believe what we've been told. Winter Garden isn't a bad location, as long as they're not in a mobile home park. The eye will probably be a lot further east.

A while back, we had a couple of thunderstorms, but there will be more to come later. I'm trying to photograph the busier moments in my neighbourhood. I'll probably take a walk outside until it gets really windy. I don't want to go for a 75 mph walk that much, though. :D :eek:

[cleo]

Amazingly enough, we in Pinellas County are barely getting a light rain. That may change a bit over the next couple of hours, but it sounds like we're just going to get the equivalent of some bad afternoon thunderstorms. It's such a surreal feeling to be watching TV, listening to the reports of absolute devestation, and knowing that when we woke up this morning this thing had us in its crosshairs. My heart goes out to all those folks who didn't fortify their homes, thinking Charley was locked in on Tampa Bay. Many of the communities in the path of the storm are rural and low-income, so this could be absolutely devestating. I can't believe we managed to dodge this bullet.

[Geetar]

Cleo, it seems to have curved right around us in Sarasota; we're getting a lot of rain, but that's all..... but I don't like the way it's headed North, still curving round NW.....could be headed for Ybor.

I've seen some of the pic's of damage done, and it's not pretty. But it could (and this in no way meant to diminish the pain of those it has left with wrecked homes) have been a LOT worse so far.

Just saw some video...the Post Office in Fort Myers has had its roof peeled like a boiled egg.

[bousozoku]

We've been getting some outer ring storms, but it's still not bad yet.

Those below were taken at 18:07 and 18:13 eastern.

[LimeiBook86]

We've been getting some outer ring storms, but it's still not bad yet.

Those below were taken at 18:07 and 18:13 eastern.

Great photos! Keep inside, Keep Safe! Good luck ;)

[cleo]

Cleo, it seems to have curved right around us in Sarasota; we're getting a lot of rain, but that's all..... but I don't like the way it's headed North, still curving round NW.....could be headed for Ybor.


I'm glad to know you and your family are safe. And I agree with you, it would be horrible for the historic buildings of Ybor to be damaged. The center seems to be staying well to the east of that area, though...


Just saw some video...the Post Office in Fort Myers has had its roof peeled like a boiled egg.

OMG, I saw that too!!! :eek: Really scary sh't, that. I wonder if the mail was secure?

Do you know if we're going to be able to see the Opening Ceremony tonight on any channel?

[Awimoway]

I can't believe we managed to dodge this bullet.

I was thinking the same thing. I don't live there (or in Florida at all), but I was marveling at the fact that Tampa has avoided any hurricane force winds while Orlando--which nobody was talking about this morning--is now forecasted to experience gale forces. Yikes.

This is going to be an expensive storm.



Meanwhile, here in the desert it's sprinkling outside for the first time in four months. :rolleyes:

[relimw]

I was thinking the same thing. I don't live there (or in Florida at all), but I was marveling at the fact that Tampa has avoided any hurricane force winds while Orlando--which nobody was talking about this morning--is now forecasted to experience gale forces. Yikes.

This is going to be an expensive storm.

No kidding, too bad we don't have a Disney cam or such.... Ft Myers (Southwest Airport) was reporting winds of 150knots when Charley came on shore, and they expect 115MPH winds to be hitting Orlando. It looks like it'll most miss where I am, just some 'light' winds (gusting around 25mph).

[bousozoku]

I was thinking the same thing. I don't live there (or in Florida at all), but I was marveling at the fact that Tampa has avoided any hurricane force winds while Orlando--which nobody was talking about this morning--is now forecasted to experience gale forces. Yikes.

This is going to be an expensive storm.



Meanwhile, here in the desert it's sprinkling outside for the first time in four months. :rolleyes:

It doesn't seem that different from Hurricane Floyd in 1999, which was supposed to wreak havoc on Floriduh and ended up doing it to North Carolina.

According to recent reports, the current hurricane's approach has accelerated. It should be in the Orlando area an hour earlier.

[yellow]

Cleo, it seems to have curved right around us in Sarasota;

To the north or south? My parents bought a house in Nokomis this spring.

[bousozoku]

It's getting closer.

[Geetar]

It curved around us to the East (giving us a 15-mile wide berth) and then headed up north-east towards Orlando.

No damage here at all.

[Geetar]

It's getting closer.

Best of luck to y'all, let us know how you're doing.

[Rower_CPU]

So did all of Florida get carried off by Charley?!?! :eek:

Seriously, though - can we get a roll call here? We want to know that everyone's OK. :)

[LimeiBook86]

I just hope that bousozoku is ok, and my friend Ryan who lived in a part of Florida that really got hit hard. I hope the reason he isn't online or answering his e-mail is because the power is probably out or the phone lines are down.

:o I hope everyone's ok

[Kingsnapped]

I just hope that bousozoku is ok, and my friend Ryan who lived in a part of Florida that really got hit hard. I hope the reason he isn't online or answering his e-mail is because the power is probably out or the phone lines are down.

:o I hope everyone's ok

bousozoku hasn't been online since the storm. I'm sure it's just the power/dsl. Poor Floridians. I plan on running away during the tropical storms over the next few years.

remember me...<yells as he runs out the door>


:eek:

[LimeiBook86]

remember me...<yells as he runs out the door>


That does sound like him, hehe. He did say that he wouldn't be getting the worst of the storm. I hope that it's true. I have a feeling his DSL or Power is just out, hopefully he will reply to us soon.

<crosses fingers>
Come on bousozoku, you can do it!! :cool:

[MattG]

I'm okay!!! :D

Down here in Naples, I didn't even lose power. It flashed on and off a dozen or so times, but it didn't stay off continuously. A bunch of messed up trees and debris was the extent of the damage where I live. My parents' (about 10 miles north of me) lost their power for about 6 hours or so, but their house didn't sustain any damage.

My uncle in Punta Gorda wasn't so lucky, unfortunately. His house has significant flood damage, and their screened in lanai/office is pretty messed up. Nothing that can't be fixed, though. At least the house is still standing. He's lucky really, considering some of the pictures of other houses, what's left of them, that I saw on the news.

On Saturday, I went to the Naples campus of the school where I work to unbag computers, and I'll be doing the same tomorrow at the Fort Myers campus (who didn't get their electricity back until earlier today).

What a mess.

[LimeiBook86]

Bousozoku is ok, he has no power but he managed to IM me via his cell phone. He is doing alright, here is the proof.

Now I just have to see if my friend Ryan is ok.

:)

[Neserk]

Glad he is okay... Hopefully he isn't missing us too much ;)

[Archaeopteryx]

The best thing to come out of this storm was hearing americans trying to say "Punta Gorda" .. I swear to god i spit milk accross the room thinking i heard the anchorman say "Fat Slut" (in spanish)

[Powerbook G5]

My grandparents nearly lost their home in Ft Myers from Charley. Their roof is gone along with their garage and most of the neighborhood is not there anymore. Saint Augustine is completely flooded right now. Today and yesterday we got some really nasty rain storms. My car is under water right now, I tried to move it but it just barely drove. When I got in the water was actually to the floor and the interior is soaked, so hopefully it won't mold or anything from now and the time the water recedes. So far the only damage to our apartment is my bedroom window and the window downstairs by the front porch. We have them taped up and haven't made any attempts to fix them yet since there are reports of two new storms brewing that may hit us pretty hard next week. That's how it is here, if it's a really quiet hurricane season, it ends up a pretty wild August-November. We'll just have to see, but it's likely that the first month of school is going to be rainy again.

[bousozoku]

Personally, I'm okay. It could have been worse. The !@#$ eye headed right for the development where I live and managed to top off many old trees and uproot the newer ones. I will post photos when I have power. (I'm at my parents' house right now--with 19.2Kbps speed.)

The CEO of the wonderful power company (http://www.progress-energy.com/) has stated unequivocally that power to this area will be restored by midnight Saturday--that was a huge gamble on his part. :rolleyes: Funny how Burger King, the grocery store, the nail places, and gas station out front of the development all have power, but the 200+ houses where I live don't have power.

Damage to any of the houses was minimal. The more expensive houses had worse damage that the cheaper houses and I feel secure in my choice of builders now, as they held together better than the rest.

I got a message from a friend in Clearwater Beach that everything was okay and from another in new Tampa. Both of them apparently only got thunderstorms.

Thanks for caring! :)

Talk to you when power is restored.

[LimeiBook86]

Personally, I'm okay. It could have been worse. The !@#$ eye headed right for the development where I live and managed to top off many old trees and uproot the newer ones. I will post photos when I have power. (I'm at my parents' house right now--with 19.2Kbps speed.)

The CEO of the wonderful power company (http://www.progress-energy.com/) has stated unequivocally that power to this area will be restored by midnight Saturday--that was a huge gamble on his part. :rolleyes: Funny how Burger King, the grocery store, the nail places, and gas station out front of the development all have power, but the 200+ houses where I live don't have power.

Damage to any of the houses was minimal. The more expensive houses had worse damage that the cheaper houses and I feel secure in my choice of builders now, as they held together better than the rest.

I got a message from a friend in Clearwater Beach that everything was okay and from another in new Tampa. Both of them apparently only got thunderstorms.

Thanks for caring! :)

Talk to you when power is restored.

Yay, see folks he's alright ;)

I can't wait to see some of the pictures he has. His 5mp camera should have taken wonderful pictures. Hope the power is restored ASAP, keep safe...

:)

[medea]

I'm finally back online, we just got power late yesterday afternoon and cable came back tonight. My house was spared for the most part as we did not lost any trees and the only damage were roof tiles and the attic heat vent. Funny story we were all sitting in the living room and there was this loud bang, I got up to see what it was and went into the kitchen and busted my ass, the silo for the attic had been knocked off and water was coming in . My friend and I ended up going outside and found the silo so we got on the roof to try to attach it with no luck so I had to go back inside and grab some screws and a drill, when I got back on the roof the winds blew my friends glasses right of his head and of course we never found them.

Our neighborhood was hit pretty bad, there were tons of powerlines downed on our road and massive tree damage. Some homes roofs are gone etc. I volunteered some time to help out a friends family, one of their properties was obliterated while their farm was hit hard and the roof needs to be replaced on the home their as is their other property which houses their barn and another house. The poor guy lost his 67' Cesna which he just restored to pristine condition. Anyways my family wasn't hit too bad and her were my wifes parents so we were all real lucky. It's a bad situation down here spreading through Captiva, Sanibel, Fort Myers, Cape Coral, Punta Gorda, Port Charlotte etc.

[medea]

Who else is left from the Florida crew? Cleo hasn't been on yet eh?

[NusuniAdmin]

lets hope some of the peeps in florida move finally. THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR INSURANCE HIGHER ELSEWHERE!!!!!!!

[medea]

lets hope some of the peeps in florida move finally. THANK YOU FOR MAKING OUR INSURANCE HIGHER ELSEWHERE!!!!!!!
How thoughtful of you, you know some people lost their lives in this storm?
:(

[NusuniAdmin]

How thoughtful of you, you know some people lost their lives in this storm?
:(

do you know how many people lose their lives every day? Not to sound cruel but it is called keeping the population down.

[Powerbook G5]

do you know how many people lose their lives every day? Not to sound cruel but it is called keeping the population down.

My grandmother almost died in that hurricane so I am not all that amused either.

[bousozoku]

The best thing to come out of this storm was hearing americans trying to say "Punta Gorda" .. I swear to god i spit milk accross the room thinking i heard the anchorman say "Fat Slut" (in spanish)

Yeah, that's always funny. There is a company which runs pharmacies out of that area and the person who did the phone menus would pronounce it incorrectly. I almost spit my drink across my desk when she said it. :D

I hope all the rest of you in Floriduh are okay. It's been quite a while since things were so interesting here.

I think by the time Monday comes, as many people will have been killed by Carbon Monoxide poisoning or by incorrectly using chainsaws.

NusuniAdmin:

Shame! I have two words in response to statements such as that one and they're not happy birthday. You might have thought it clever when you posted it but it wasn't. I thought that you were smarter than that.

[NusuniAdmin]

if it was not for these things happening that kill hundreds or even thousands at once trust me (mark my words!) we would have many many many problems right now. Heck if it was not for famine and the black plague and such in the middle ages who knows if humans would even exist any more?

[bousozoku]

if it was not for these things happening that kill hundreds or even thousands at once trust me (mark my words!) we would have many many many problems right now. Heck if it was not for famine and the black plague and such in the middle ages who knows if humans would even exist any more?

It still was not an appropriate time to post it. I don't think that anyone will feel any more generous than that.

[bousozoku]

It feels really odd posting these photos. The situation here wasn't hopeless and certainly, not nearly as bad as those in southwest Floriduh, but as I am posting them, I'm taken back to the silent stillness after the storm hit us.

[blackfox]

interesting pictures...reminds me of living in Wisconsin when a tornado came through and leveled a town near me that I had been in the previous week...passed by it after the fact and it was seriously surreal to know that the place I had eaten a few days previous was now no longer in existence...

Anyway, glad to hear that everyone from Florida (who contributes here at least) is ok...

I hope no-one takes offense, but this incident just cements the fact that you could not pay me to live in Florida...I shudder to think of what people's insurance rates are down there...

[bousozoku]

interesting pictures...reminds me of living in Wisconsin when a tornado came through and leveled a town near me that I had been in the previous week...passed by it after the fact and it was seriously surreal to know that the place I had eaten a few days previous was now no longer in existence...

Anyway, glad to hear that everyone from Florida (who contributes here at least) is ok...

I hope no-one takes offense, but this incident just cements the fact that you could not pay me to live in Florida...I shudder to think of what people's insurance rates are down there...

Considering that I've been here since January 1997 and this is the first really bad storm in Central Floriduh, I'm not feeling too bad about it. I've been through typhoons, earthquakes, blizzards, tornadoes, and hurricanes.

Insurance rates on the latest houses should not be so bad. I would not want to see what the rates on an older (or wood frame) house would be. Now, business insurance is another thing. The power companies are replacing loads of cabling, transformers, etc. They need to develop a new way to handle the power that is more storm resistant. The insurance to pay for all of that would be tremendous but I'm sure we see that in our monthly bills already.

[Geetar]

do you know how many people lose their lives every day? Not to sound cruel but it is called keeping the population down.


Winning friends, influencing ....er......sub-humans?



All the best from Florida, mate.


As for the rest of all y'all, glad we're all still (kind of) in one piece. Some relatives of friends down here haven't been so lucky, especially (and inevitably) the elderly. My friends on Boca Grande aren't having any of us over for company just now :(

[bousozoku]

About 75 percent of people in counties surrounding Orlando have power again. They've found a few problems and one man was injured trying to connect his brother's power. Other services are coming along too.

Work crews have really gone above and beyond in getting things done.

There are still many, many older homes and apartment buildings which are uninhabitable, though.

[MattG]

The best thing to come out of this storm was hearing americans trying to say "Punta Gorda" .. I swear to god i spit milk accross the room thinking i heard the anchorman say "Fat Slut" (in spanish)
When I read that, it made me thing of something I read this morning.
This web site is so funny :)

http://www.whitehouse.org/news/2004/081604.asp

[bousozoku]

When I read that, it made me thing of something I read this morning.
This web site is so funny :)

http://www.whitehouse.org/news/2004/081604.asp

Glad to see you still have your sense of humour. :)

[LimeiBook86]

~Zing! hehe, it might not make sense to some of you but it's from The Simpsons.

<After Lisa loses a State Fair competition>
Marge: Well lets just try and have fun at the State Fair.
Lisa: You mean state UN-Fair!!
Bart: Zing!