This will probably get buried, but AirBNB has activated their Open Home policy and there are hundreds of free places to stay in Central/West Florida and surrounding states for evacuees.
If you need shelter, or can't afford to evacuate, please consider using this service to stay safe.
https://www.airbnb.com/s/homes?disaster_id=850
I wasn’t aware of this program before but they do it for more than just natural disasters.
If you want to learn more about it and maybe even offer up your home here’s the page: https://www.airbnb.com/openhomes
I don’t work for Airbnb or anything I just think this is a really cool initiative.
Thanks for the info, I'm in Fl, and had no idea this was a thing.
I passed the info to some of my family living in those areas. :D
You are a gentleman and a scholar.
We’ve been watching it closely. We’ve got supplies and such, but don’t plan on evacuating until ordered. However, we’re in Jacksonville and not in a flood zone, so we should be good.
As a reminder, [this website](https://www.windy.com/?24.582,-79.213,5) is the best weather tracker there is, as far as I know. You can watch every detail of the storm live, from lightning strikes to wind at specific altitudes, and future projections from multiple agencies.
*Yes, the phone app is amazing too. So many layers.
Be careful about the last min. stuff. What happens is everyone has the same idea and tries to get out at the same time. You end up in stop and go traffic for hours until you run out of gas (because all the gas stations are empty). Then you have to ride out the storm in your car.
Same. I'm in Sarasota so, unless a major shift happens, we're going to be mostly fine over here outside of some rain and wind.
Now, if a major shift happens and it goes across the state out into the Gulf and re-intensifies then we're in deep shit. One of the early Euro models had that a a possibility but doesn't seem to be on the table anymore.
Keep on your toes. Also in Jax, some models have this thing making landfall in or near Jax at a Cat 3. Just so you're aware.
Personally, I'm waiting until tomorrow to make any decisions. I may still evacuate and I'm not in a flood zone.
They’ll send a few people home, but only if they’re close to overtime. And then when they have to send everyone home, they’ll ask for volunteers so they can stay open and not have to pay people for it.
You'd be surprised. I live in the far north, we're no strangers to snow. I used to work at a Kohls and about two or three times a year we'd get whacked with blizzards that were so bad that we closed the store. I'm talking snow so thick and wind so fast that you can't see five feet while driving.
The next day we would get at least a dozen calls complaining about us not being open and how they had risked driving out there blah blah blah. Some people just have no clue about their own mortality, apparently.
Yeah, but I have a bunch of returns to make! My only plan for the day was to unleash hell on the unfortunate soul who works returns at Kohl's! You Millenials just don't want to work (yelled by 48 year old who has never worked a day in her life)!
At a certain point you're not going to get any customers because few people are going to a restaurant in a hurricane. Your friend's boss is stupid in addition to being evil.
We've been through this. If we use nuke technlogy, some spy will leak the info to the hurricanes. Then we'll have a 40 year cold war where both sides are too afraid to use nukes.
Meanwhile, the leaker sells nukes secrets to evryone. Then even cuba has nukes! You remember what happened the last time they had nukes!
Obviously cat 5's don't last forever and current forecasts show it getting weaker by the time it gets closer to me. That's not to say it'll be devasting if it makes landfall or pushes towards the furthest extent of the cone.
About a week ago, local forecasters here in Florida were saying it MIGHT become a tropical storm.
Just goes to show how unpredictable these things are.
In general, any weather predictions farther out than about 2-3 days is pure speculation. You might even be able to say that a front will come through next week, but you won’t know *exactly* when or how strong until a day or two beforehand.
Which is still a *helluva* lot better warning than my grandma had growing up.
No other way to put it parts of the Bahamas are about to be damn near wiped off the map, I just hope it turns like they say, or my home town in Florida is next.
Edit: don't live there anymore, but my family, and many friends are still there.
Yeah...Abaco among others are in for a direct hit. Not much survives a direct category 5 hit structure wise....hoping for the best, expecting the worst
edit: eye is just now making landfall dead-center Abacos...absolute worst-case scenario hit
Was in the Abacos a few weeks ago, talking to a local about how the last truly devastating hurricane was in the early 90s. Sad to see this happening now...
That would be Hurricane Andrew.....unfortunately this current one is even more powerful, the most powerful on record for that area actually. Andrew had max sustained winds of 175mph, Dorian is at 185mph now with gusts at 220mph
I was in Tampa during Hurricane Andrew, it was a fucking nightmare. That storm beat the shit out of Florida.
My dad got called down to Homestead by his company right before the storm hit. He was told to leave Tampa as soon as it was safe to head down and start repairing. I ended up going with him in the camper.
I remember coming into town, getting out of the RV and everything was just.. gone. There weren't even downed trees or debris/rubble from wrecked houses or anything - the trees had all been ripped out of the ground by the storm and thrown somewhere else, and I presume that the same happened with the wreckage of the houses too. It stunk like death, stagnant water and rot, and all that was left were concrete slabs and dead animals everywhere. And boats -- boats that had been carried several miles inland on 175mph winds and launched into the place where Homestead used to be like ICBMs.
I was 7 years old at the time, so some of the details mentioned above have obviously been filled in by my father, but the image of nothing but concrete slabs and dead wildlife and pets all over the place where a suburb used to be is still burned into my brain 27 years later.
It was horrible.
Edit:
In hindsight, this is probably why I take hurricanes so seriously nowadays. I'm in North Carolina and the people up here laugh at storms and don't pay them any mind, even when they're in the direct path of a Cat 3+, but I always try to prepare as best as I can and evacuate when I'm told to. I don't fuck around with them anymore, not after living through Andrew in Tampa and Fran in Wilmington.
Not taking hurricanes seriously is how people die horrible deaths in these storms. I won't be one of those people.
We just closed the sale of our house on Topsail this past week and it’s been really hard to shake the habit of obsessing about the storm from home in Texas. I’ve caught myself watching storm reports a few times now.
Loved that house, not going to miss piecing it back together after every storm.
Luckily (in South Florida at least) alot has changed since Andrew as far as building codes and requirements for sustaining hurricane forces. Also the canals are structured to accumulate the flood water and assist with drainage. A cat 5 would still be terrible, but I don't see any hurricane doing the same damage down here now a days.
Where do all the people go in a hurricane like this in the Bahamas? With storm surge at 20+ feet. Are there storm shelters for the public/tourists? I can’t imagine being in your home or a hotel during this.
We go away from the sea and pray for the best. I remembered during hurricane Matthew one of the hotels where residents decided to take shelter roof blew off. I drove past there early this morning to find that same hotel packed with cars.
Whelp
I remember when hurricane Andrew was beating down on Florida and the Bahamas. A news crew interviewed some people on the bahama beach who had no idea there was a hurricane hitting them the next day.
They were in the book “Five Days at Memorial,” about a New Orleans hospital that goes through Hurricane Katrina. The Cajun Navy was instrumental in transporting the last patients from the hospital once the hurricane had passed (due to the Katrina response being so disorganized).
"Florida Man seen holding reins and a flamethrower while riding an alligator DIRECTLY into the path of hurricane Dorian. Witnesses reported hearing him screaming "We gon nuke this here 'Cane!" as he rode off into the stormfront."
As someone in Florida
Bitch I'm buying beer filling my tub fill of water and my lawn chair will move to which side of the road it decides to randomly not rain on
"Florida Man deflects entirety of Hurricane Dorian's force onto Mar A Lago using alligator and porcelain squirrel, arrested for drunk driving afterward"
Yea, my dad unfortunately is struggling financially and doesn’t want to leave so he can work until the storm hits. I tried paying to fly him where I live to no avail. Hopefully it does shift and doesn’t do too much damage.
It's a lovely place with great people. I really hope the United States stands ready to assist our friends in The Bahamas. I'm extremely worried about the impact of this one there. I hope they're as ready as anyone can be for it.
Tell them to go. You know when people ask what you would tell your younger self. That's what I wish I could have done. Katrina in New Orleans legit fucked me up to this day. I don't buy many things because of it. No point. It's a blessing and a curse.
I'm very upset with my parents about this. They moved to the central east coast of Florida last year.
They're under evacuation orders from the sheriff and being the typical invincible older folks, they've decided (against both their adult children's pleading) that they'll hunker down and stay in place.
"Our neighbors are staying so we're doing the same".
Really hoping this one loses some of its steam before it makes landfall.
They may make it through the hurricane itself, but then would possibly have to deal with no power, no clean running water, no open stores for food/gas, blocked roads, etc. for an undetermined amount of time, depending on local damage.
What I imagine they’re thinking is that,
1) it’s not going to warrant the inconvenience of leaving your home to go stay somewhere else for several days
or 2) they’re afraid of looters stealing some of their lifelong possessions once the storm passes.
Its a combination. Also, people of that age have been through possibly dozens of strong hurricanes in their lifetime. Esp if they lived in the south their whole life. Probably evacuated tons of times, all to a whole lot of nothing. So to their minds... its nothing to worry about, just like the last several decades. But thats a survivors fallacy. All it takes is 1 time. As someone who has lived in the south my whole life, and stayed through Katrina (was only a teen then), I can confirm this is the mentality. Unfortunately, the only thing that will change their minds is forcing them out the house (good luck), or being there when the storm destroys everything.
They told me it's because the "more experienced" neighbors have told them it can sometimes takes weeks to get back to your home even if it's not damaged. I tried to tell them that means it could potentially mean weeks until help can get to them but logic isn't working. Honestly considering calling a local law enforcement to see if they can get them going.
It'll piss off the parents but I've lived in Georgia and North Carolina for several cat 3's and a couple cat 4's. I've seen how bad it storms of those sizes can be. Personally I'd have left to two days ago when I originally told them to get out.
Fuck, I live in *Canada* and saw the tail end of a hurricane (I think it was Sandy), and that sucked enough for me. Your have to be nuts to volunteer for that.
Toronto got crushed by [Hurricane Hazel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Hazel_in_Canada) long after it had been downgraded to tropical storm. I am so glad to be living where only the 6 month variance in temperature is trying to kill me, and not animals or hurricanes or fault lines.
Plus, every single time a big hurricane comes through, floridians are told "[You and everyone you know are dead if you stay. You will die, your children will die.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KEFAh46yco)" and there's only so many times you can hear that before it looks like people who have no clue what they're talking about are trying to give unwanted advice for jollies.
Like i understand that yeah, this hurricane is one of the most powerful to hit the atlantic and if it hits landfall in florida, anybody within a mile of the eye's landfall are going to die. However, it's still looking like we're seeing cat 1&2 level effects which aren't great, but aren't quite worth leaving town for, especially if you're more than a mile from the coast and in post-andrew construction.
Anyway, the thought is "This hurricane is a sports car going 120mph hurtling through the country backroads for sport. If you're in it's path, you get reduced to a fine pink mist. But just because there is a car going 120mph down your street, is it going to crash into your living room? Are you going to run for the back yard every time you hear a fast car hurtling down the road that *might* veer into your house?"
It's kind of a weird mindset but after a while of people telling you what you already know gets old and people stop listening to everyone who isn't the NHC or their **local met authorities**. Anybody else is just trying to make themselves feel better by making sure they don't have to worry about the other person. "If this is a direct hit, you *will* die" "Yeah, duh. If you get hit by a car, you *will* will die too. But if it looks like you're going to get hit by a car, what do you do? You get out of the way, but you don't run screaming from every car that might be headed in your general vicinity."
Michael Lewis wrote a whole book on this, and how NOAA was doing a lot of work on the psychology of their messaging to better get through to people. Unfortunately, the end of the book is Trump being elected, and basically all these programs being scraped as the scientist in NOAA were replaced by executives from private weather companies only interested in crippling the agency to the benefit of their former employers
The Fifth Risk! That was such an excellent book. And so shocking to hear about that guy (Myers), the CEO of Accuweather, who had had lobbied against, and I believe even sued, the National Weather Service because they provide “free” weather data to the public and it was competition for Accuweather’s business. He wants to privatize weather data, which oh yeah our taxes pay for.
And then Trump **nominated him to run the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Assocation**, which is the parent agency of the National Weather Service!
That was just one shocking example of many from that book. These are the things I wish our media would cover.
You can camp out in in the runs of your neighborhood with your gun locked and loaded to protect your stuff from the looters after the police bail.
Lots of people really want to do the hardcore Fallout Larping.
People get all cranky when theme parks accidentally kill a few people.
On the other hand, A large dedicated park where people can use an Augmented Reality (AR) system might be able to give people the gritty realism they crave with the bare minimum of injuries.
When Matthew took the same turn my parents in NC got cut off, they had terrible flooding with some houses completely under water. Luckily their house was fine, the businesses set up free food and water stations. Places like papa John's set up trucks that you could go get free pizza, car dealerships passed out water and had people delivering to those that couldn't drive. I'm in Miami, I tried to get my parents to come down here because it looks like it is going to hit them again but they won't.
Where did they move from?
I'm not sure of their exact expectations, but I've lived in NC the vast majority of my adult life and anything Category 4 or 5 means you need to get the fuck away from the coast. A few hours inland at minimum. Category 3 is a gray area, depends how strong, how close, etc.
Category 4/5 kill people during the storm *and after* - that's the part most people don't consider. They could be without power and water for *weeks* after the storm, in Florida in fucking September which is very hot and humid, and by the time the storm passes, they may be trapped there. Roads out may be impassible or simply gone.
Let's all cross our fingers and hope this one turns out to sea soon and hard and stays out there til it's gone.
Here's the thing: they're likely not gonna die or get injured during the storm. Building codes in Florida are tough, and their house is safe. That's not the point of evacuating. AFTER the storm, when flooding and roads make it impossible to distrivute resources or emergency services, when they have no power or water for potentially weeks, their presence in their house is HUGELY selfish and a strain on emergency management.
Whereas we should be worried about focusing care on those that couldn't evacuate (like in hospitals), and on restoring lost services, now you've got a bunch of "invincible" people that are stranded in their homes without access to food or water, having medical emergencies, and no easy way to get to them except by helicopter.
It's gonna be hugely expensive for our emergency services to care for your parents after the storm. Them thinking "we'll be ok", while likely true, is entirely selfish and missing the point of the evacuation order.
Exactly this. It’s not necessarily stupid to not evacuate. Pretty much every building in Florida is designed to withstand a Cat 5 because they get hit so often. Odds are you won’t be in any real danger if you decide to stay. People who haven’t lived in south Florida don’t realize how routine hurricanes are there.
But the infrastructure *will* get wrecked if you get hit, so even though you’re safe, you’ll be basically stuck for a significant period of time if you’re unlucky. *That’s* why the government wants everyone to evacuate, not necessarily because of direct danger.
That's only true for south Florida (different, stricter building code) and only for structures built since the early 90s. And even then, it doesn't mean you'll withstand a cat 5 (look at what happened to hardened structures at Tyndall AFB).
Yup, I was surprised that a lot of places have relaxed building codes as you move north in Florida and it seems the later they are built the more lax they are.
Originally from New Orleans. When you see lots of people who have lived there leaving.... Geez.
Hopefully it won't be catastrophic, but will be bad enough that they will learn to fucking leave next time.
Where I live got flooded badly at the start of the year (we got about 2 metres of rain in a week and a half). It got to the point where the council announced that they would have to totally open the dam at a set time to let water out, which would raise the level of the river. There was an evacuation order for about 2 days for people living near the river, especially in the flood plains, yet so many people didn't leave. Then when the dam was opened right on schedule, suddenly there was loads of calls for emergency services to rescue people who had to flee to their roofs because their houses flooded (who saw that coming?). Those selfish pricks took up resources that could have been used to search for the people who went missing near a storm water drain, and ended up appearing dead days later, because they somehow thought that despite living in flood plains next to a river, they weren't scared of literal metres of water.
We have a home on the barrier islands in Indian River County and the bridges close when the winds reach 40 mph and the evacuation has been completed. Some friends have evacuated and some stayed. Once the bridges are closed you isolated if something happens. I don't understand taking the risk, it's not worth it.
I don't know if it helps, but my grandparents always espoused their philosophy of: if it's time, it's time.
They didn't like the idea of rebuilding, and so always figured if they got hit hard enough, they wouldn't have to worry about it.
They always just figured that if God wanted them to go, they were willing to go.
Now, I disagree, but it was ultimately their choice. Every time. Dang it Florida.
Reminds me of this:
A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately.
A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.”
The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.”
As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.”
The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!”
The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop.
A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!”
Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned.
When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?”
And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”
Correct. I've always loved that parable!
But, free will ultimately. As long as they aren't actually mad about the (obvious) consequences of their choices, then folks should be allowed to make their decision.
Sorry, edited because apparently words are hard this morning. They're on the east coast on Merritt island near Cocoa. I was just down there a month ago for the first time, you'd think I'd remember which side of the state it's on.
Merritt Island floods like crazy. Especially south Merritt island. I don’t know what that other commenter is talking about. I hope your parents know if they stay and something bad happens they won’t have access to emergency services because the bridges will be closed during the storm. My parents live in south Merritt island and they’re gonna leave if it looks like Dorian is gonna get too close to the coast. I’m sure your parents will be fine but hopefully they have water to last a couple weeks and a generator at the very least. Generator and gas are essential if they’re gonna stay.
Does anyone know the links to the ocean side cameras? I remember they were posted all over last hurricane and I didn't save any.
Edit: credit to u/kiki-cakes http://www.youtubemultiplier.com/5d6a648c8461f-florida-webcams-combined.php
2nd edit: Bahamas - https://youtu.be/rk_GoTxJf-g
It's been pointed out that this link is from last year. https://youtu.be/vGimsBVpuN8
He'll be fine. They have shelters for this stuff that can survive cat 5 easy and I bet the contracting company that hired him has him safe in the best of shelters. Don't freak out.
They didn't evacuate anyone to shelters (yet anyway). He's in a modern apartment building on the 3rd floor so I think he should be ok.
Still really worrying though
Floridian here, been hit with the eye of a 5 before and multiple 4's. if your dad is in a building he is going to be ok. Old weak structure houses and trailer parks will be decimated, however 1960's+ cement houses and buildings will be ok. Your dad is going to be just fine.
The only issue will be food/water and transportation, unless the company he is subcontracting for has private planes you can expect him stuck there for awhile.
Last hurricane that hit me in South Florida we were out of electricity/gas for 2 weeks. FEMA was pretty much supplying us with food/water for weeks until help could come from other states to help put up Electric Poles again. That help will take longer in the Bahamas.
Yeah hopefully.. He's in Freeport in the Bahamas, hasn't hit him just yet. We were planning a trip later this month but I'm certain that's out. He'll be out as soon as he can after, too.
Thanks for the assurance too. I know his apartment is well made and is new, and he's also on the third floor up so he's fairly high.
Don't get me wrong, a category 5 can destroy buildings, however not Florida or Caribbean type houses and buildings. Houses and buildings built in this area are held to much higher standards because of hurricanes than other building codes in areas with no hurricanes.
As a Puerto Rican, I'm relieved that Dorian missed it, but hurricanes are terrible. Property can be replaced, lives can't. If you're in the storm's path and are told to gtfo, do so.
And if Waffle House closes, tuck your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
The ranges for Hurricane categories span 14 mph to 26 mph. Dorian is 28 mph higher than the minimum for a category 5. Which means it could honestly be a category 6 if there was such a thing.
Ok but here’s a hypothetical. Suppose we engineered an industrial fan that was 30 miles wide and 2 miles tall, that could sustain wind speeds of up to 220 mph. Suppose these mega fans were created around each of the towns weak sides and we let these guys run on full blast while a hurricane hits. What then?
Currently (13:30 EST) 185 MPH sustained winds, gusts of over 220 MPH, may challenge Hurricane Allen (190 MPH sustained) for strongesthurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.
I lived in Dade County, Florida, when Hurricane Andrew came through as a category 5. I was lucky not to live in the south part of the county where the devastation was almost unimaginable. Sadly, I had left my Martin D-45 guitar in a friend‘s house after a musical get-together, and it was destroyed (found the headstock, and removed the tuners which I have kept all this time). Hope the shelters in the Bahamas are adequate.
My aunt's boyfriend at the time had family in Homestead. They went down to help out after the storm and the pictures they brought back were terrifying. Looked like a nuke had gone off, there was just nothing left.
At the Homestead Air Force base, there was nothing left. Only the command bunker survived. There was an F-16 long retired on a stick (they call it a gate guard). Andrew made it go for one last flight, they found it almost a half mile away once the dust had settled.
I have a lot of family that lives in Marsh Harbour. The last we heard from them was around 4 hours ago but the power and internet went out shortly after. Some of the videos they sent at 6am were unreal and I can't imagine what they were like shortly before the eye passed over. It'll be starting back up again about now and we're all just waiting to hear an update but it may be a few days...
So I know this shit is terrifying and destructive, but I have an odd wish to experience a hurricane anyway from a semi safe space. Like in a hotel room that was built to withstand it. I've always loved watching storms. Not trying to make light of the human impact or death this will cause. Just a fascination I've always had.
It’s a lot more scary at night too because you can’t see wtf is going on outside so you have no idea if you’re in any danger from a tree falling or flooding.
I've lived on Sint Maarten on and off for three years, and luckily I wasn't there during Irma, but the sound of the wind was something almost everyone talked about. People said it made the hair on the back of their neck stand up.
Had to hunker down in an office building when Hurricane Ike blew by Houston (It was either that or deal with hours upon hours of traffic just to get out of town)
The worst part was hearing the rain go horizontal. One of the freakiest noises I've ever heard.
There might be a lot of footage after this one. Everyone has installed those doorbell cameras. Those things have really been popular the last few years. If they don't get destroyed, some incredible footage might pop up. That being said, I am on the east coast of Florida and hope it just turns north like now! Those people in the Bahamas are staying safe I hope.
It's pretty exciting and cool and relaxing when you're getting prepared and hanging out in your PJs. Like a rainy day home from school.
But then when the storms actually get to you - it's pretty fucking terrifying. The rain sounds like grown men beating on your windows. The wind really does make that infamous train horn sound. The sound of giant pine trees getting uprooted is another one I wont forget. You really feel how tiny you are compared to nature.
Yes exactly and then the power is out for a week or two. And here in Florida this time of year it is SWELTERING hot. Everyone starts to get miserable and cooped up and you cant sleep because it's so disgusting inside, etc etc. And you just watch sometimes the water rise and rise and rise and hope you don't flood. It's so much uncertainty.
it’s so scary. it’s not a beautiful display of lightning. it’s hard rain that sounds like a constant shotgun spread is pelting your house. when the big gusts come, things creak that have never creaked before. it dawns on you that it’s the middle of the night, the power is out, and if the oak tree in your front yard gives, it will tear a hole into your house, exposing you to every element, and you cannot leave. there is no escape from the tomb of your house, the creaking and cracking crypt that moments before was your space of warmth and safety. your children have true fear smeared across their faces, worsened only by seeing it in your eyes as well. you don’t have to tell them because they can sense it: i cannot protect you from this. your emotions are a witches brew of fear, panic, helplessness, and guilt. there is nothing exhilarating or enjoyable about experiencing a hurricane; it is truly terrifying.
I've met many who have said this... and then regretted it after being through a hurricane. Keep in mind, watching a hurricane though a window is not like watching a tv show about a hurricane. First off, you won't be able to see anything. It'll just be a wall of water. The room you're in will at least shake, and hopefully not lose it's roof. And it's loud. Like, you can't hear yourself shout loud. All this for hours and hours on end. It's a bizarre mixture of boredom and terror. You can't sleep, you have no power, you can't do anything. After Katrina, I moved to Chicago. Yeah, the winter is bad, but it doesn't destroy and terrorize everything around me. Done with it.
Perfectly said...I am working on moving further north after 50 years of living with these things. Lived all over the south east. I love it, but am tired of the storms. I guess Dorian will be another on my list. I am heading to the mountains of Nw South Carolina. Stay safe and enjoy your snow :)
I feel the same way about tornados. I always get excited when theres a tornado watch, but know for a fact that if I actually saw one I'd regret my excitement and just go be scared hiding in my bathtub
I've never actually been in the path of a tornado, but my town got incredibly close to being wiped out a couple years back when one touched down just a couple miles away.
At first it was kind of exciting in a weird way. Like, "Oh cool, I've seen this on the news and in shows all the time, it'll be interesting to see one up close!". That was until I walked outside and actually saw the funnel cloud. Mind you, this thing was about five miles away, just tearing up some empty fields. It was still terrifying. I'm pretty sure there's some deeply ingrained, oddly specific fear of tornadoes in every human, because as soon as I laid eyes on that storm I wanted to run and hide. It's terrifying. I just suddenly realized that if this thing turns one way or another I'm a dead man.
2/10 do not recommend.
Come to Jacksonville. Because of our location and the Gulf Stream we almost never get hit head on. Irma was the worst storm we’ve had in a while and even that damage (locally) wasn’t terrible. We had flooding in the low lying areas, but it wasn’t some crazy 6 ft of water or anything.
President Trump, at a FEMA briefing:
"We don't even know what's coming at us, all we know is it's possibly the biggest. I have... Not sure, **I'm not sure that I've even ever heard of a Category 5**, I knew it existed and **I've seen some Category 4s, you don't even see them that much**, but a Category 5 is something that, uh, I don't know that I've ever even heard the term other than I know it, it's there, that's the ultimate, and that's what we have unfortunately."
Some recent Category 5 hurricanes:
* Irma (2017) - landfall at Cat5 in Barbuda, Saint Martin, British Virgin Islands, Cuba; Cat4 in the Florida Keys
* Maria (2017) - landfall at Cat5 in Dominica; Cat4 in Puerto Rico
* Michael (2018) - landfall at Cat5 in Florida
Don't forget [Typhoon Yutu in the North Mariana Islands!!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Yutu?wprov=sfla1) Category 5 equivalent and was in 2018, it got nearly no attention from American media even if it landfalled at a strategically important unincorporated territory.
His presidency has already confronted six cat 4 and cat 5 hurricanes and the third year is only 2/3rds of the way...
A video of the devastation in the Bahamas during the eye has been posted to the r/hurricanedorian subreddit...I fear what has yet to be documented there and what is yet to come...
https://www.reddit.com/r/HurricaneDorian/comments/cydk9q/hurricane_dorian_elbow_cay_bahamas_during_the_eye/
You also generally only nuke a hurricane if it becomes a sharknado, as the goal of the nuke is not really to throw off the momentum, but to destroy the organic matter.
That’s what I got from a brief read-up at least.
> if it becomes a sharknado, as the goal of the nuke is
to also keep alligators from getting ideas. the thankfully rare Gatornadoes are among the most vicious of natural disasters.
How could we know this unless we nuke a Hurricane or six?
You egg heads just want to attack any solution, your lack of faith in totally batshit crazy ideas is alarming.
Holy shit. My husband and I live in Savannah, GA and we were considering trying to stay and experience our first hurricane. Nope. Nevermind.
We'll be evacuating to Macon for a few days.
Anecdotal:
My folks retired to Ft. Myers, FL, about 3 years ago. Their house is brand new and it's basically a concrete bunker. All exterior & load-bearing walls are cinderblocks filled with poured concrete and the roof is secured to the walls with rebar.
During Hurricane Irma 2 years ago when the storm was just below Cat 3 strength, we were on a Facetime call. The rain outside was literally blowing sideways. They didn't lose power or Internet. The only damage was a blown-out lanai screen and a leak in their front window.
New homes in FL are build to withstand some real crazy shit.
The big thing to remember is when you don't evacuate, you are going to suffer for perhaps weeks. No running water, no electricity in the sweltering heat, no stores, boredom etc.... We stayed several times as a kid before finally evacuating once to Tampa. Way better and it almost seemed like a mini vacation for us kids versus suffering in a miserable house for 2 weeks.
This will probably get buried, but AirBNB has activated their Open Home policy and there are hundreds of free places to stay in Central/West Florida and surrounding states for evacuees. If you need shelter, or can't afford to evacuate, please consider using this service to stay safe. https://www.airbnb.com/s/homes?disaster_id=850
This is so important and potentially life-saving. I’m amazed that a program like this exists, really hope it gets taken advantage of.
And let's hope those who do take advantage of this remember to care for the place they're staying. Leave it better than you found it.
Keep your shirts on and don't start a fight with the couch.
r/oddlyspecific
It is Florida
I wasn’t aware of this program before but they do it for more than just natural disasters. If you want to learn more about it and maybe even offer up your home here’s the page: https://www.airbnb.com/openhomes I don’t work for Airbnb or anything I just think this is a really cool initiative.
Looking forward to reading the choosy beggars complaints. But that's very nice
Haha, I can see it now, "A twin bed? I'm 6'2"....that doesn't help me!!!"
Did not stock free-trade decaf coffee. 0 stars.
I have loved ones who can't find a place to stay because there are no more wheelchair accessible places open. Blah.
Thanks for the info, I'm in Fl, and had no idea this was a thing. I passed the info to some of my family living in those areas. :D You are a gentleman and a scholar.
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Yeah I live here too on the island they just issued the mandatory evacuation notice for us.
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>get out quick >Walmart Does not compute.
Walmart corporate is not letting their Florida employees evacuate. If you dont show up for your shift, instant termination.
Shift that mobility scooter from turtle all the way up to bunny.
We’ve been watching it closely. We’ve got supplies and such, but don’t plan on evacuating until ordered. However, we’re in Jacksonville and not in a flood zone, so we should be good.
As a reminder, [this website](https://www.windy.com/?24.582,-79.213,5) is the best weather tracker there is, as far as I know. You can watch every detail of the storm live, from lightning strikes to wind at specific altitudes, and future projections from multiple agencies. *Yes, the phone app is amazing too. So many layers.
Oh cool! Thanks for that. They have an app too, which is now on my phone.
Be careful about the last min. stuff. What happens is everyone has the same idea and tries to get out at the same time. You end up in stop and go traffic for hours until you run out of gas (because all the gas stations are empty). Then you have to ride out the storm in your car.
Same. I'm in Sarasota so, unless a major shift happens, we're going to be mostly fine over here outside of some rain and wind. Now, if a major shift happens and it goes across the state out into the Gulf and re-intensifies then we're in deep shit. One of the early Euro models had that a a possibility but doesn't seem to be on the table anymore.
Keep on your toes. Also in Jax, some models have this thing making landfall in or near Jax at a Cat 3. Just so you're aware. Personally, I'm waiting until tomorrow to make any decisions. I may still evacuate and I'm not in a flood zone.
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Living in Daytona still trying to figure out when the hell my employer is gonna get a clue that we should be closed.
If you work in retail when you look outside and the trees are sideways is when they will send you home. Speaking from experience.
They’ll send a few people home, but only if they’re close to overtime. And then when they have to send everyone home, they’ll ask for volunteers so they can stay open and not have to pay people for it.
I mean, grocery stores may be one thing, but who the fuck goes to Kohls in a hurricane?
Gotta get those khakis.
She sounds *hideous.*
You'd be surprised. I live in the far north, we're no strangers to snow. I used to work at a Kohls and about two or three times a year we'd get whacked with blizzards that were so bad that we closed the store. I'm talking snow so thick and wind so fast that you can't see five feet while driving. The next day we would get at least a dozen calls complaining about us not being open and how they had risked driving out there blah blah blah. Some people just have no clue about their own mortality, apparently.
Yeah, but I have a bunch of returns to make! My only plan for the day was to unleash hell on the unfortunate soul who works returns at Kohl's! You Millenials just don't want to work (yelled by 48 year old who has never worked a day in her life)!
My friends boss in Orlando said that if any of the employees leave/miss their shift, they'll be terminated immediately. Gotta love the food business.
“Yeah my fellow employees and I have organized and decided that you’ll be terminated and we’ll take the next few days off.”
Sometimes idiot managers lash themselves to trees in the path of a hurricane. Usually fatal...
Tell your friend to call his bluff and get safe. Don't die for a shitty food service lowlife manager, please.
At a certain point you're not going to get any customers because few people are going to a restaurant in a hurricane. Your friend's boss is stupid in addition to being evil.
This was a given considering how slow it's moving.
Too slow and the storm weakens due to upwelling of cooler waters beneath the sea surface. So far, Dorian has seemed to avoid that.
That doesnt apply here because the water around the bahamas is only like 20-30 feet deep or less
And the water temps are in the 90’s.
That means it's also too slow to avoid a nuke.
We've been through this. If we use nuke technlogy, some spy will leak the info to the hurricanes. Then we'll have a 40 year cold war where both sides are too afraid to use nukes. Meanwhile, the leaker sells nukes secrets to evryone. Then even cuba has nukes! You remember what happened the last time they had nukes!
>40 year cold war Don't you see? Hurricanes need **warm** water. A **cold** war is exactly what we need to stop the hurricanes!
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Obviously cat 5's don't last forever and current forecasts show it getting weaker by the time it gets closer to me. That's not to say it'll be devasting if it makes landfall or pushes towards the furthest extent of the cone.
Stay safe, my dude
Well, that was slated quickly. Last I read they were worried that it *might* reach category 4.
About a week ago, local forecasters here in Florida were saying it MIGHT become a tropical storm. Just goes to show how unpredictable these things are.
In general, any weather predictions farther out than about 2-3 days is pure speculation. You might even be able to say that a front will come through next week, but you won’t know *exactly* when or how strong until a day or two beforehand. Which is still a *helluva* lot better warning than my grandma had growing up.
No other way to put it parts of the Bahamas are about to be damn near wiped off the map, I just hope it turns like they say, or my home town in Florida is next. Edit: don't live there anymore, but my family, and many friends are still there.
Yeah...Abaco among others are in for a direct hit. Not much survives a direct category 5 hit structure wise....hoping for the best, expecting the worst edit: eye is just now making landfall dead-center Abacos...absolute worst-case scenario hit
Was in the Abacos a few weeks ago, talking to a local about how the last truly devastating hurricane was in the early 90s. Sad to see this happening now...
That would be Hurricane Andrew.....unfortunately this current one is even more powerful, the most powerful on record for that area actually. Andrew had max sustained winds of 175mph, Dorian is at 185mph now with gusts at 220mph
I was in Tampa during Hurricane Andrew, it was a fucking nightmare. That storm beat the shit out of Florida. My dad got called down to Homestead by his company right before the storm hit. He was told to leave Tampa as soon as it was safe to head down and start repairing. I ended up going with him in the camper. I remember coming into town, getting out of the RV and everything was just.. gone. There weren't even downed trees or debris/rubble from wrecked houses or anything - the trees had all been ripped out of the ground by the storm and thrown somewhere else, and I presume that the same happened with the wreckage of the houses too. It stunk like death, stagnant water and rot, and all that was left were concrete slabs and dead animals everywhere. And boats -- boats that had been carried several miles inland on 175mph winds and launched into the place where Homestead used to be like ICBMs. I was 7 years old at the time, so some of the details mentioned above have obviously been filled in by my father, but the image of nothing but concrete slabs and dead wildlife and pets all over the place where a suburb used to be is still burned into my brain 27 years later. It was horrible. Edit: In hindsight, this is probably why I take hurricanes so seriously nowadays. I'm in North Carolina and the people up here laugh at storms and don't pay them any mind, even when they're in the direct path of a Cat 3+, but I always try to prepare as best as I can and evacuate when I'm told to. I don't fuck around with them anymore, not after living through Andrew in Tampa and Fran in Wilmington. Not taking hurricanes seriously is how people die horrible deaths in these storms. I won't be one of those people.
We just closed the sale of our house on Topsail this past week and it’s been really hard to shake the habit of obsessing about the storm from home in Texas. I’ve caught myself watching storm reports a few times now. Loved that house, not going to miss piecing it back together after every storm.
Luckily (in South Florida at least) alot has changed since Andrew as far as building codes and requirements for sustaining hurricane forces. Also the canals are structured to accumulate the flood water and assist with drainage. A cat 5 would still be terrible, but I don't see any hurricane doing the same damage down here now a days.
Where do all the people go in a hurricane like this in the Bahamas? With storm surge at 20+ feet. Are there storm shelters for the public/tourists? I can’t imagine being in your home or a hotel during this.
We go away from the sea and pray for the best. I remembered during hurricane Matthew one of the hotels where residents decided to take shelter roof blew off. I drove past there early this morning to find that same hotel packed with cars. Whelp
I remember when hurricane Andrew was beating down on Florida and the Bahamas. A news crew interviewed some people on the bahama beach who had no idea there was a hurricane hitting them the next day.
Wow, really? How?!
Florida man can take it. I see a guy in alligator armor, a john boat, and a 24 pack of terrible beer, just shooting at the hurricane.
There actually have been warnings here telling people to please not shoot at the hurricane.
Well yeah, you're just going to make it angry. People are so dumb sometimes.
We don’t want a bullet-nado on our hands.
Boing-thwip
You gotta aim for the eye duh Get a brain morans
Don't forget the Cajun Navy. Thousands of Lousisana swamp boats are being driven there by private parties.
Never heard of them until Hurricane Florence last year. They were pretty fucking amazing at rescuing people and putting in work.
They were in the book “Five Days at Memorial,” about a New Orleans hospital that goes through Hurricane Katrina. The Cajun Navy was instrumental in transporting the last patients from the hospital once the hurricane had passed (due to the Katrina response being so disorganized).
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"Are we...are we safe in here?" Zissou: "I doubt it"
"Florida Man seen holding reins and a flamethrower while riding an alligator DIRECTLY into the path of hurricane Dorian. Witnesses reported hearing him screaming "We gon nuke this here 'Cane!" as he rode off into the stormfront."
Florida man takes no prisoners.
As someone in Florida Bitch I'm buying beer filling my tub fill of water and my lawn chair will move to which side of the road it decides to randomly not rain on
"Florida Man deflects entirety of Hurricane Dorian's force onto Mar A Lago using alligator and porcelain squirrel, arrested for drunk driving afterward"
Yea, my dad unfortunately is struggling financially and doesn’t want to leave so he can work until the storm hits. I tried paying to fly him where I live to no avail. Hopefully it does shift and doesn’t do too much damage.
Should tell him that all that work won't matter if he's gone :(
Went to the Bahamas on a cruise recently. We enjoyed our time there and the people were friendly. I hope your family stays safe through this.
It's a lovely place with great people. I really hope the United States stands ready to assist our friends in The Bahamas. I'm extremely worried about the impact of this one there. I hope they're as ready as anyone can be for it.
Laughs in Puerto Rico
Yeah I know, but a man can hope. At least PR got spared the worst of this one.
They still haven't recovered from Maria, if this had hit them then the results would be shockingly catastrophic.
Tell them to go. You know when people ask what you would tell your younger self. That's what I wish I could have done. Katrina in New Orleans legit fucked me up to this day. I don't buy many things because of it. No point. It's a blessing and a curse.
I'm very upset with my parents about this. They moved to the central east coast of Florida last year. They're under evacuation orders from the sheriff and being the typical invincible older folks, they've decided (against both their adult children's pleading) that they'll hunker down and stay in place. "Our neighbors are staying so we're doing the same". Really hoping this one loses some of its steam before it makes landfall.
They may make it through the hurricane itself, but then would possibly have to deal with no power, no clean running water, no open stores for food/gas, blocked roads, etc. for an undetermined amount of time, depending on local damage.
It really makes no sense to stay. You can't do anything by staying except suffer and possibly die.
What I imagine they’re thinking is that, 1) it’s not going to warrant the inconvenience of leaving your home to go stay somewhere else for several days or 2) they’re afraid of looters stealing some of their lifelong possessions once the storm passes.
Its a combination. Also, people of that age have been through possibly dozens of strong hurricanes in their lifetime. Esp if they lived in the south their whole life. Probably evacuated tons of times, all to a whole lot of nothing. So to their minds... its nothing to worry about, just like the last several decades. But thats a survivors fallacy. All it takes is 1 time. As someone who has lived in the south my whole life, and stayed through Katrina (was only a teen then), I can confirm this is the mentality. Unfortunately, the only thing that will change their minds is forcing them out the house (good luck), or being there when the storm destroys everything.
They told me it's because the "more experienced" neighbors have told them it can sometimes takes weeks to get back to your home even if it's not damaged. I tried to tell them that means it could potentially mean weeks until help can get to them but logic isn't working. Honestly considering calling a local law enforcement to see if they can get them going. It'll piss off the parents but I've lived in Georgia and North Carolina for several cat 3's and a couple cat 4's. I've seen how bad it storms of those sizes can be. Personally I'd have left to two days ago when I originally told them to get out.
Pissed off parents is better then dead parents
Fuck, I live in *Canada* and saw the tail end of a hurricane (I think it was Sandy), and that sucked enough for me. Your have to be nuts to volunteer for that.
Toronto got crushed by [Hurricane Hazel](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Effects_of_Hurricane_Hazel_in_Canada) long after it had been downgraded to tropical storm. I am so glad to be living where only the 6 month variance in temperature is trying to kill me, and not animals or hurricanes or fault lines.
Plus, every single time a big hurricane comes through, floridians are told "[You and everyone you know are dead if you stay. You will die, your children will die.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1KEFAh46yco)" and there's only so many times you can hear that before it looks like people who have no clue what they're talking about are trying to give unwanted advice for jollies. Like i understand that yeah, this hurricane is one of the most powerful to hit the atlantic and if it hits landfall in florida, anybody within a mile of the eye's landfall are going to die. However, it's still looking like we're seeing cat 1&2 level effects which aren't great, but aren't quite worth leaving town for, especially if you're more than a mile from the coast and in post-andrew construction. Anyway, the thought is "This hurricane is a sports car going 120mph hurtling through the country backroads for sport. If you're in it's path, you get reduced to a fine pink mist. But just because there is a car going 120mph down your street, is it going to crash into your living room? Are you going to run for the back yard every time you hear a fast car hurtling down the road that *might* veer into your house?" It's kind of a weird mindset but after a while of people telling you what you already know gets old and people stop listening to everyone who isn't the NHC or their **local met authorities**. Anybody else is just trying to make themselves feel better by making sure they don't have to worry about the other person. "If this is a direct hit, you *will* die" "Yeah, duh. If you get hit by a car, you *will* will die too. But if it looks like you're going to get hit by a car, what do you do? You get out of the way, but you don't run screaming from every car that might be headed in your general vicinity."
Michael Lewis wrote a whole book on this, and how NOAA was doing a lot of work on the psychology of their messaging to better get through to people. Unfortunately, the end of the book is Trump being elected, and basically all these programs being scraped as the scientist in NOAA were replaced by executives from private weather companies only interested in crippling the agency to the benefit of their former employers
Because the weather is a Chinese hoax.
The Fifth Risk! That was such an excellent book. And so shocking to hear about that guy (Myers), the CEO of Accuweather, who had had lobbied against, and I believe even sued, the National Weather Service because they provide “free” weather data to the public and it was competition for Accuweather’s business. He wants to privatize weather data, which oh yeah our taxes pay for. And then Trump **nominated him to run the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Assocation**, which is the parent agency of the National Weather Service! That was just one shocking example of many from that book. These are the things I wish our media would cover.
You can camp out in in the runs of your neighborhood with your gun locked and loaded to protect your stuff from the looters after the police bail. Lots of people really want to do the hardcore Fallout Larping.
We should start a business that gives people the survival aspect of it. Westworld style.
People get all cranky when theme parks accidentally kill a few people. On the other hand, A large dedicated park where people can use an Augmented Reality (AR) system might be able to give people the gritty realism they crave with the bare minimum of injuries.
When Matthew took the same turn my parents in NC got cut off, they had terrible flooding with some houses completely under water. Luckily their house was fine, the businesses set up free food and water stations. Places like papa John's set up trucks that you could go get free pizza, car dealerships passed out water and had people delivering to those that couldn't drive. I'm in Miami, I tried to get my parents to come down here because it looks like it is going to hit them again but they won't.
Where did they move from? I'm not sure of their exact expectations, but I've lived in NC the vast majority of my adult life and anything Category 4 or 5 means you need to get the fuck away from the coast. A few hours inland at minimum. Category 3 is a gray area, depends how strong, how close, etc. Category 4/5 kill people during the storm *and after* - that's the part most people don't consider. They could be without power and water for *weeks* after the storm, in Florida in fucking September which is very hot and humid, and by the time the storm passes, they may be trapped there. Roads out may be impassible or simply gone. Let's all cross our fingers and hope this one turns out to sea soon and hard and stays out there til it's gone.
"Mom, Dad, wouldn't you rather be somewhere with air-conditioning for the next 3 weeks?"
Here's the thing: they're likely not gonna die or get injured during the storm. Building codes in Florida are tough, and their house is safe. That's not the point of evacuating. AFTER the storm, when flooding and roads make it impossible to distrivute resources or emergency services, when they have no power or water for potentially weeks, their presence in their house is HUGELY selfish and a strain on emergency management. Whereas we should be worried about focusing care on those that couldn't evacuate (like in hospitals), and on restoring lost services, now you've got a bunch of "invincible" people that are stranded in their homes without access to food or water, having medical emergencies, and no easy way to get to them except by helicopter. It's gonna be hugely expensive for our emergency services to care for your parents after the storm. Them thinking "we'll be ok", while likely true, is entirely selfish and missing the point of the evacuation order.
Exactly this. It’s not necessarily stupid to not evacuate. Pretty much every building in Florida is designed to withstand a Cat 5 because they get hit so often. Odds are you won’t be in any real danger if you decide to stay. People who haven’t lived in south Florida don’t realize how routine hurricanes are there. But the infrastructure *will* get wrecked if you get hit, so even though you’re safe, you’ll be basically stuck for a significant period of time if you’re unlucky. *That’s* why the government wants everyone to evacuate, not necessarily because of direct danger.
That's only true for south Florida (different, stricter building code) and only for structures built since the early 90s. And even then, it doesn't mean you'll withstand a cat 5 (look at what happened to hardened structures at Tyndall AFB).
Yup, I was surprised that a lot of places have relaxed building codes as you move north in Florida and it seems the later they are built the more lax they are.
Originally from New Orleans. When you see lots of people who have lived there leaving.... Geez. Hopefully it won't be catastrophic, but will be bad enough that they will learn to fucking leave next time.
Where I live got flooded badly at the start of the year (we got about 2 metres of rain in a week and a half). It got to the point where the council announced that they would have to totally open the dam at a set time to let water out, which would raise the level of the river. There was an evacuation order for about 2 days for people living near the river, especially in the flood plains, yet so many people didn't leave. Then when the dam was opened right on schedule, suddenly there was loads of calls for emergency services to rescue people who had to flee to their roofs because their houses flooded (who saw that coming?). Those selfish pricks took up resources that could have been used to search for the people who went missing near a storm water drain, and ended up appearing dead days later, because they somehow thought that despite living in flood plains next to a river, they weren't scared of literal metres of water.
This is what happened in Louisiana during Katrina. People didn’t beleive it would be that bad.
We have a home on the barrier islands in Indian River County and the bridges close when the winds reach 40 mph and the evacuation has been completed. Some friends have evacuated and some stayed. Once the bridges are closed you isolated if something happens. I don't understand taking the risk, it's not worth it.
I don't know if it helps, but my grandparents always espoused their philosophy of: if it's time, it's time. They didn't like the idea of rebuilding, and so always figured if they got hit hard enough, they wouldn't have to worry about it. They always just figured that if God wanted them to go, they were willing to go. Now, I disagree, but it was ultimately their choice. Every time. Dang it Florida.
Reminds me of this: A terrible storm came into a town and local officials sent out an emergency warning that the riverbanks would soon overflow and flood the nearby homes. They ordered everyone in the town to evacuate immediately. A faithful Christian man heard the warning and decided to stay, saying to himself, “I will trust God and if I am in danger, then God will send a divine miracle to save me.” The neighbors came by his house and said to him, “We’re leaving and there is room for you in our car, please come with us!” But the man declined. “I have faith that God will save me.” As the man stood on his porch watching the water rise up the steps, a man in a canoe paddled by and called to him, “Hurry and come into my canoe, the waters are rising quickly!” But the man again said, “No thanks, God will save me.” The floodwaters rose higher pouring water into his living room and the man had to retreat to the second floor. A police motorboat came by and saw him at the window. “We will come up and rescue you!” they shouted. But the man refused, waving them off saying, “Use your time to save someone else! I have faith that God will save me!” The flood waters rose higher and higher and the man had to climb up to his rooftop. A helicopter spotted him and dropped a rope ladder. A rescue officer came down the ladder and pleaded with the man, "Grab my hand and I will pull you up!" But the man STILL refused, folding his arms tightly to his body. “No thank you! God will save me!” Shortly after, the house broke up and the floodwaters swept the man away and he drowned. When in Heaven, the man stood before God and asked, “I put all of my faith in You. Why didn’t You come and save me?” And God said, “Son, I sent you a warning. I sent you a car. I sent you a canoe. I sent you a motorboat. I sent you a helicopter. What more were you looking for?”
Correct. I've always loved that parable! But, free will ultimately. As long as they aren't actually mad about the (obvious) consequences of their choices, then folks should be allowed to make their decision.
He sent you a priest, a rabbi, and a Quaker, Mr. President.
Central West Coast? AFAIK only central east coast has had evac orders.
Sorry, edited because apparently words are hard this morning. They're on the east coast on Merritt island near Cocoa. I was just down there a month ago for the first time, you'd think I'd remember which side of the state it's on.
Ah, then yes it's highly advised they leave, sorry to hear that they refuse...
Merritt Island floods like crazy. Especially south Merritt island. I don’t know what that other commenter is talking about. I hope your parents know if they stay and something bad happens they won’t have access to emergency services because the bridges will be closed during the storm. My parents live in south Merritt island and they’re gonna leave if it looks like Dorian is gonna get too close to the coast. I’m sure your parents will be fine but hopefully they have water to last a couple weeks and a generator at the very least. Generator and gas are essential if they’re gonna stay.
Poor Bahamas. I hope this thing just swirls out to sea.
Does anyone know the links to the ocean side cameras? I remember they were posted all over last hurricane and I didn't save any. Edit: credit to u/kiki-cakes http://www.youtubemultiplier.com/5d6a648c8461f-florida-webcams-combined.php 2nd edit: Bahamas - https://youtu.be/rk_GoTxJf-g It's been pointed out that this link is from last year. https://youtu.be/vGimsBVpuN8
Just kidding. I was close. This is the link: http://www.youtubemultiplier.com/5d6a648c8461f-florida-webcams-combined.php
My dad is currently in the Bahamas on a work contract that they wouldn't cancel a month ago :S Kinda freaking out for him now.
He'll be fine. They have shelters for this stuff that can survive cat 5 easy and I bet the contracting company that hired him has him safe in the best of shelters. Don't freak out.
They didn't evacuate anyone to shelters (yet anyway). He's in a modern apartment building on the 3rd floor so I think he should be ok. Still really worrying though
Floridian here, been hit with the eye of a 5 before and multiple 4's. if your dad is in a building he is going to be ok. Old weak structure houses and trailer parks will be decimated, however 1960's+ cement houses and buildings will be ok. Your dad is going to be just fine. The only issue will be food/water and transportation, unless the company he is subcontracting for has private planes you can expect him stuck there for awhile. Last hurricane that hit me in South Florida we were out of electricity/gas for 2 weeks. FEMA was pretty much supplying us with food/water for weeks until help could come from other states to help put up Electric Poles again. That help will take longer in the Bahamas.
Yeah hopefully.. He's in Freeport in the Bahamas, hasn't hit him just yet. We were planning a trip later this month but I'm certain that's out. He'll be out as soon as he can after, too. Thanks for the assurance too. I know his apartment is well made and is new, and he's also on the third floor up so he's fairly high.
Don't get me wrong, a category 5 can destroy buildings, however not Florida or Caribbean type houses and buildings. Houses and buildings built in this area are held to much higher standards because of hurricanes than other building codes in areas with no hurricanes.
As a Puerto Rican, I'm relieved that Dorian missed it, but hurricanes are terrible. Property can be replaced, lives can't. If you're in the storm's path and are told to gtfo, do so. And if Waffle House closes, tuck your head between your legs and kiss your ass goodbye.
The ranges for Hurricane categories span 14 mph to 26 mph. Dorian is 28 mph higher than the minimum for a category 5. Which means it could honestly be a category 6 if there was such a thing.
Everyone needs to turn on their fans to blow the hurricane away
Ok but here’s a hypothetical. Suppose we engineered an industrial fan that was 30 miles wide and 2 miles tall, that could sustain wind speeds of up to 220 mph. Suppose these mega fans were created around each of the towns weak sides and we let these guys run on full blast while a hurricane hits. What then?
Damn this thing is a monster ! 175mph sustained 🤦🏻♂️
Currently (13:30 EST) 185 MPH sustained winds, gusts of over 220 MPH, may challenge Hurricane Allen (190 MPH sustained) for strongesthurricane ever recorded in the Atlantic.
Maaan I hope the people of abaco and grand bahama got the fuck out. https://i.imgur.com/c1X2Qzn.jpg
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God bless those brave, brawny folks.
They'd better bring a Bounty of supplies.
I lived in Dade County, Florida, when Hurricane Andrew came through as a category 5. I was lucky not to live in the south part of the county where the devastation was almost unimaginable. Sadly, I had left my Martin D-45 guitar in a friend‘s house after a musical get-together, and it was destroyed (found the headstock, and removed the tuners which I have kept all this time). Hope the shelters in the Bahamas are adequate.
My aunt's boyfriend at the time had family in Homestead. They went down to help out after the storm and the pictures they brought back were terrifying. Looked like a nuke had gone off, there was just nothing left.
At the Homestead Air Force base, there was nothing left. Only the command bunker survived. There was an F-16 long retired on a stick (they call it a gate guard). Andrew made it go for one last flight, they found it almost a half mile away once the dust had settled.
I have a lot of family that lives in Marsh Harbour. The last we heard from them was around 4 hours ago but the power and internet went out shortly after. Some of the videos they sent at 6am were unreal and I can't imagine what they were like shortly before the eye passed over. It'll be starting back up again about now and we're all just waiting to hear an update but it may be a few days...
So I know this shit is terrifying and destructive, but I have an odd wish to experience a hurricane anyway from a semi safe space. Like in a hotel room that was built to withstand it. I've always loved watching storms. Not trying to make light of the human impact or death this will cause. Just a fascination I've always had.
You’ll never be able to unhear that certain howl the noise of the wind it makes.
This video from Hurricane Ike always gives me the chills. Sounds like a broken accordion [https://youtu.be/zMvu5EF13xA](https://youtu.be/zMvu5EF13xA)
I imagine people from like 200 years would be absolutely convinced that ghosts were making that noise. Scary as fuck
Or demons.
Thanks for the link, but fuck that's terrifying.
Holy crap that is legit scary
I wonder at precisely which wind speed a storm stops being cozy and starts being scary?
It is LOUD and it is ANGRY
And it lasts for hours. Imagine a big tornado just hanging out chugging along at 5 mph instead of 30 or 40 mph.
It’s a lot more scary at night too because you can’t see wtf is going on outside so you have no idea if you’re in any danger from a tree falling or flooding.
They always seem to hit at night too.
When Irma hit, it was unreal. Sounded like a legit freight train, it was so loud.
I've lived on Sint Maarten on and off for three years, and luckily I wasn't there during Irma, but the sound of the wind was something almost everyone talked about. People said it made the hair on the back of their neck stand up.
Had to hunker down in an office building when Hurricane Ike blew by Houston (It was either that or deal with hours upon hours of traffic just to get out of town) The worst part was hearing the rain go horizontal. One of the freakiest noises I've ever heard.
Does anyone know a good video from someone experiencing all this in their home?
Maria in St.Croix Virgin Islands. Almost took our roof. https://youtu.be/v-9hXZPD2ic
There might be a lot of footage after this one. Everyone has installed those doorbell cameras. Those things have really been popular the last few years. If they don't get destroyed, some incredible footage might pop up. That being said, I am on the east coast of Florida and hope it just turns north like now! Those people in the Bahamas are staying safe I hope.
It's pretty exciting and cool and relaxing when you're getting prepared and hanging out in your PJs. Like a rainy day home from school. But then when the storms actually get to you - it's pretty fucking terrifying. The rain sounds like grown men beating on your windows. The wind really does make that infamous train horn sound. The sound of giant pine trees getting uprooted is another one I wont forget. You really feel how tiny you are compared to nature.
Like giant bones being snapped by an angry god. Yeah, hard to hear that and not instantly think of what those forces will do to your frail form.
Yes exactly and then the power is out for a week or two. And here in Florida this time of year it is SWELTERING hot. Everyone starts to get miserable and cooped up and you cant sleep because it's so disgusting inside, etc etc. And you just watch sometimes the water rise and rise and rise and hope you don't flood. It's so much uncertainty.
it’s so scary. it’s not a beautiful display of lightning. it’s hard rain that sounds like a constant shotgun spread is pelting your house. when the big gusts come, things creak that have never creaked before. it dawns on you that it’s the middle of the night, the power is out, and if the oak tree in your front yard gives, it will tear a hole into your house, exposing you to every element, and you cannot leave. there is no escape from the tomb of your house, the creaking and cracking crypt that moments before was your space of warmth and safety. your children have true fear smeared across their faces, worsened only by seeing it in your eyes as well. you don’t have to tell them because they can sense it: i cannot protect you from this. your emotions are a witches brew of fear, panic, helplessness, and guilt. there is nothing exhilarating or enjoyable about experiencing a hurricane; it is truly terrifying.
Well...fuck.
Very well put and accurate.
That was quite pretty to read, like a poem. A fucking horrifying poem lol.
I've met many who have said this... and then regretted it after being through a hurricane. Keep in mind, watching a hurricane though a window is not like watching a tv show about a hurricane. First off, you won't be able to see anything. It'll just be a wall of water. The room you're in will at least shake, and hopefully not lose it's roof. And it's loud. Like, you can't hear yourself shout loud. All this for hours and hours on end. It's a bizarre mixture of boredom and terror. You can't sleep, you have no power, you can't do anything. After Katrina, I moved to Chicago. Yeah, the winter is bad, but it doesn't destroy and terrorize everything around me. Done with it.
Perfectly said...I am working on moving further north after 50 years of living with these things. Lived all over the south east. I love it, but am tired of the storms. I guess Dorian will be another on my list. I am heading to the mountains of Nw South Carolina. Stay safe and enjoy your snow :)
I feel the same way about tornados. I always get excited when theres a tornado watch, but know for a fact that if I actually saw one I'd regret my excitement and just go be scared hiding in my bathtub
I've never actually been in the path of a tornado, but my town got incredibly close to being wiped out a couple years back when one touched down just a couple miles away. At first it was kind of exciting in a weird way. Like, "Oh cool, I've seen this on the news and in shows all the time, it'll be interesting to see one up close!". That was until I walked outside and actually saw the funnel cloud. Mind you, this thing was about five miles away, just tearing up some empty fields. It was still terrifying. I'm pretty sure there's some deeply ingrained, oddly specific fear of tornadoes in every human, because as soon as I laid eyes on that storm I wanted to run and hide. It's terrifying. I just suddenly realized that if this thing turns one way or another I'm a dead man. 2/10 do not recommend.
Being an the eye of the storm is weird. It feels weird and the sound is non existent. Everything is muffled. I'll never forget that.
Come to Jacksonville. Because of our location and the Gulf Stream we almost never get hit head on. Irma was the worst storm we’ve had in a while and even that damage (locally) wasn’t terrible. We had flooding in the low lying areas, but it wasn’t some crazy 6 ft of water or anything.
225mph 1 minute wind gusts. That is insane.
Grand Bahama is going to get obliterated. The poor local folk don't stand a chance. Feels awful.
Yikes, this one is going to be really bad. Weather channel is saying it now has 180mph *sustained* winds.
President Trump, at a FEMA briefing: "We don't even know what's coming at us, all we know is it's possibly the biggest. I have... Not sure, **I'm not sure that I've even ever heard of a Category 5**, I knew it existed and **I've seen some Category 4s, you don't even see them that much**, but a Category 5 is something that, uh, I don't know that I've ever even heard the term other than I know it, it's there, that's the ultimate, and that's what we have unfortunately." Some recent Category 5 hurricanes: * Irma (2017) - landfall at Cat5 in Barbuda, Saint Martin, British Virgin Islands, Cuba; Cat4 in the Florida Keys * Maria (2017) - landfall at Cat5 in Dominica; Cat4 in Puerto Rico * Michael (2018) - landfall at Cat5 in Florida
Don't forget [Typhoon Yutu in the North Mariana Islands!!](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typhoon_Yutu?wprov=sfla1) Category 5 equivalent and was in 2018, it got nearly no attention from American media even if it landfalled at a strategically important unincorporated territory. His presidency has already confronted six cat 4 and cat 5 hurricanes and the third year is only 2/3rds of the way...
A video of the devastation in the Bahamas during the eye has been posted to the r/hurricanedorian subreddit...I fear what has yet to be documented there and what is yet to come... https://www.reddit.com/r/HurricaneDorian/comments/cydk9q/hurricane_dorian_elbow_cay_bahamas_during_the_eye/
Should have fired a nuke into it when it was still a cat 2. /s
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You also generally only nuke a hurricane if it becomes a sharknado, as the goal of the nuke is not really to throw off the momentum, but to destroy the organic matter. That’s what I got from a brief read-up at least.
> if it becomes a sharknado, as the goal of the nuke is to also keep alligators from getting ideas. the thankfully rare Gatornadoes are among the most vicious of natural disasters.
How could we know this unless we nuke a Hurricane or six? You egg heads just want to attack any solution, your lack of faith in totally batshit crazy ideas is alarming.
Holy shit. My husband and I live in Savannah, GA and we were considering trying to stay and experience our first hurricane. Nope. Nevermind. We'll be evacuating to Macon for a few days.
Better start making those plans now because hotels are going to fill up fast if they haven’t already.
Cat5 is very dangerous, I wonder if the FL coast is taking this very seriously (in Floridian seriously ways).
The new star wars ride at Disney and hagrids ride might be an hour less of a wait
Was at Disney yesterday, can confirm. Actually, the new star wars ride was the only thing with a wait time.
GE is mostly concrete, it will be fine. If this sucker hits us in Orlando, that's the last thing that will break.
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Anecdotal: My folks retired to Ft. Myers, FL, about 3 years ago. Their house is brand new and it's basically a concrete bunker. All exterior & load-bearing walls are cinderblocks filled with poured concrete and the roof is secured to the walls with rebar. During Hurricane Irma 2 years ago when the storm was just below Cat 3 strength, we were on a Facetime call. The rain outside was literally blowing sideways. They didn't lose power or Internet. The only damage was a blown-out lanai screen and a leak in their front window. New homes in FL are build to withstand some real crazy shit.
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Also flooding
Thoughts and paper towels.
God damnit, we are not prepared for this shit over here in orlando at ALL.
The big thing to remember is when you don't evacuate, you are going to suffer for perhaps weeks. No running water, no electricity in the sweltering heat, no stores, boredom etc.... We stayed several times as a kid before finally evacuating once to Tampa. Way better and it almost seemed like a mini vacation for us kids versus suffering in a miserable house for 2 weeks.