Hurricanes – Not For The Faint of Heart
Hurricanes are back in the news again, as Ian rumbled across the Florida peninsula this past week and we’re smack dab in the middle of the 2022 storm season (hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th).
Many folks in the four-state region may think they know what it’s like to “ride out” a storm. This area sometimes gets the remnants of a hurricane that rumbles its way up the Eastern seaboard and into the Chesapeake Bay, or maybe we catch the tail end of a storm on its last legs, as landfall takes most of the damaging winds out of the equation, but as a former resident of the “Sunshine State”, I can assure you that you really have no idea what a “real” hurricane is or what it’s like to experience one firsthand.
Sure, we may get a summer thunderstorm roll through with wind gusts of 50-60 MPH, but imagine sustained winds in the 80-90 MPH range – for hours on end – along with heavy, lashing rain that makes one peer outside to see if pairs of animals are heading towards a large ark for survival. Seeing mature trees bend at 45-degree angles, flying debris smashing into homes and cars, and flash flooding in places one never thought possible – all while huddled on a mattress in your living room (away from the windows) and fearing that at any moment – the roof will literally be ripped off of your house.
Yeah, it’s like that.
Hurricanes are that rare breed of weather phenomenon in that with the advances in meteorology and forecast capability, there’s plenty of warning that a storm is on the way (and to some extent – where it’s going and how bad it’s going to be). Early on in the process, a family has to make a decision on whether or not they will evacuate to a safer spot (which often means out of state) or hunker down and ride things out (usually determined by what “category” the storm is forecast to arrive at).
If a family decides to evacuate, there are lots of decisions to be made. Where are we going to go? How long do we anticipate we’ll need to stay? What route are we going to use? The closer the storm moves towards an impacted area, the worse traffic gets, and the last thing anyone wants to do is be stuck on a highway with little or no shelter at all when a storm hits.
If the decision is made to stay, there are many, many other factors to consider. Do we need to board up the windows? Do we have a “safe” room? Can we get sandbags to deal with the inevitable flooding? Are the local grocery stores picked clean of water, batteries, bread, toilet paper, and other staples? What are our plans for an extended power outage? Can I get enough fuel for my car and/or generator before the storm arrives?
Post-storm, there comes the damage assessment and clean-up. How long will the power be out? Do I still have a roof? Are my windows broken? How much water got inside?
I personally made these decisions many, many times during my 19 years of living in Florida, but the straw that broke the camel’s back for me was the year 2004, when three hurricanes rumbled through Central Florida in the span of 6 weeks. Charley, Frances, and Jeanne are a trio of names I’d rather forget. At the time I had a wife and two small children at home, an IT job that required my presence onsite for disaster recovery purposes, and a house that had a giant camphor tree in the backyard that I anxiously awaited its upheaval from the rain-saturated ground and high winds (luckily, the tree never did fall).
To say that I was a nervous wreck for those two months is an understatement. I was moving family members to and fro, taping windows, waiting in long gas and grocery lines, and frantically reviewing insurance policies, all while trying to keep a multi-million dollar theme park’s computer systems online and functioning.
It’s not a time in my life that I miss, and in 2007, we made a family decision to move north – and out of harm’s way.
So, as you casually watch the weather reports from far-flung locations and see video of crashing waves, storm surges, and flooded streets, think about the run up and aftermath of these storms the next time you say to yourself “wouldn’t it be nice to retire to Florida and live there year-round?”
I’m not saying you shouldn’t – all I’m saying is you better do your research and know what you’ll eventually have to face as a Florida (or other Southern coastal state) resident. Big storms hit these areas more often that you think, and they do extract a physical, mental, and financial toll on a family.
Don’t say I didn’t warn ya.
2 thoughts on “Hurricanes – Not For The Faint of Heart”
As your neighbor down the street in those days I concur with all of the above. When they said Ian is “like Charley” my ears perked up. Also AJ is already back at school in St. Pete and all is well. Not so for the counties south of there.
Did you see the video of the shark swimming down a flooded street in Fort Myers. Florida is a great State to visit….but live there no way. Besides the hurricane threat it’s buggy hot and humid in the summer. When you have to screen in your pool and keep an eye out for gaters when walking near water you have to wonder why am I here. I like the seasonal changes we get instead of living somewhere that it’s always pretty much the same weather.